Van White has worked as Monroe County Assistant District Attorney, as "Crime Czar" for Mayor William A. Johnson's Special Counsel on Crime and Violence Initiatives, and as a private attorney, specializing in cases involving school safety issues. In 2006, believing that he could have a greater impact on improving school safety by working from “within the system”, Van ran a successful campaign for a vacant seat on the City of Rochester School Board. Since being sworn in January 2007, Van has been an outspoken advocate for improving school safety, raising graduation rates, decreasing truancy rates, and attacking the problem of lead poisoning -- which is proven to have a detrimental and devastating effect on the academic performance of urban children. Having served as Board Vice President for two non-consecutive terms in 2008 and 2013, Van White was elected as Board President in 2014. He was a school board member who was among those elected to serve on the Council of Urban Board of Education (CUBE)'s 16 member steering committee.