Momentum Starts Here: The Momentum Continues

Momentum Summit Welcomes

Van Jones

Headline speaker Van Jones takes the Momentum stage alongside Tonya Allen for a dynamic conversation examining the intersection of technology, philanthropy, and the future of democracy.

All In For Democracy:

A Conversation Between Van Jones and Tonya Allen

For more than three decades, media commentator Van Jones has worked to create lasting change in a deeply divided country. He’ll be in conversation with McKnight Foundation President Tonya Allen on August 13th at the Momentum Summit on Martha’s Vineyard. 

The two will explore what it takes for communities to shape their own futures amid a rapidly shifting political landscape. The conversation will examine how philanthropy and other institutions can support community-led solutions while remaining accountable to the people they serve.

Van Jones is a U.S. media personality, entrepreneur, and world-class changemaker. Jones has a rare track record of bringing people together to do hard things — in areas as diverse as clean energy solutions, criminal justice reform, and racial inclusion in the tech sector.

His work includes co-founding the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, where campaigns such as "Books Not Bars" challenged youth incarceration; launching #YesWeCode to expand access to technology careers for young people of color; and helping secure passage of the First Step Act in 2018, a landmark federal law that advanced sentencing reform and expanded rehabilitative programming for incarcerated people. The New York Times calls the First Step Act the most substantial breakthrough in criminal justice in a generation.

Most recently, Jones founded the Dream Machine Innovation Lab and launched RAPPORT.co, which uses AI to increase firms' EQ. A Yale Law School graduate, Van is a CNN host, an Emmy Award-winning producer, a three-time New York Times best-selling author, and the creator of the Van Jones Substack.

A champion of equitable systems change, Tonya Allen has spent her career helping institutions translate aspiration into action. At the McKnight Foundation, she leads work on economic mobility, climate, and building an equitable and inclusive democracy through cross-sector partnerships that address complex challenges. Her leadership reflects a belief that lasting progress depends on aligning resources and accountability around shared goals. 

As Minnesotans quietly supported one another during Operation Surge in early 2026, delivering groceries, organizing school drop-offs, and standing together amid the intensified immigration enforcement, McKnight supported immigrant- and refugee-led networks working to respond and protect neighbors. McKnight’s board also approved an additional $20 million investment this year to support long-term community resilience and strengthen democracy.

Since its founding in 1953, the Minnesota-based McKnight family foundation has awarded more than $3.4 billion in grants to more than 4,000 organizations.