- Company
- Sierra Club
- Role
- Executive Director
- Est. Net Worth
- $3 Million (Est.)
- Stage
- Emerging
- Industry
- Finance
Ben Jealous
Executive Director at Sierra Club
About
Ben Jealous became the youngest-ever president of the NAACP at age 35 in 2008, leading the organization through a period of renewed activism around voting rights, criminal justice reform, and economic opportunity. Under his leadership, the NAACP grew its membership, launched voter registration drives that reached millions, and successfully campaigned for the abolition of the death penalty in multiple states. After the NAACP, Jealous became a partner at Kapor Capital, investing in tech startups that address social gaps, before being named executive director of the Sierra Club — the largest environmental organization in the United States.
Current Company
Sierra Club — Executive Director
The Youngest Leader in NAACP History
Ben Jealous became president of the NAACP at 35 — the youngest person ever to lead the 100-year-old civil rights organization. He inherited an institution that many considered past its prime, and over five years he doubled online membership, tripled fundraising, and led successful campaigns to abolish the death penalty in four states. Under his leadership, the NAACP launched voter registration drives that reached millions ahead of the 2012 election.
Jealous brought a tech-savvy, entrepreneurial energy to an organization built on 20th-century organizing models. He recruited younger staff, embraced social media, and formed coalitions with LGBTQ+ rights organizations — broadening the NAACP's mission beyond its traditional base while maintaining its core focus on racial justice and voting rights.
From Civil Rights to Venture Capital to Climate
After leaving the NAACP, Jealous became a partner at Kapor Capital, the Oakland-based venture firm that invests in technology companies addressing social gaps — from fintech for underbanked communities to edtech for underserved schools. The move reflected Jealous's belief that social change requires capital allocation, not just advocacy, and that the venture capital industry's lack of diversity was itself a civil rights problem.
In 2023, Jealous was named executive director of the Sierra Club, the nation's largest environmental organization. His appointment bridged the historically separate movements of environmental and racial justice — recognizing that communities of color bear disproportionate burdens of pollution, climate change, and environmental degradation. Jealous's career arc — civil rights, venture capital, environmentalism — reflects an increasingly interconnected view of social justice.