Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, a Brooklyn native proud of her Jamaican heritage, attended the New York City public schools, graduated from Oberlin College, and was a recipient of the prestigious APPAM/Sloan Fellowship in Public Policy and Policy Analysis.

Congresswoman Clarke was elected to the United States House of Representatives in November 2006 and today represents the Ninth Congressional District of New York, which includes the communities of Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, Ocean Hill, Park Slope, Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.

Prior to being elected to the House of Representatives, Congresswoman Clarke served on the New York City Council, representing the Fortieth District in Brooklyn. She succeeded her pioneering mother, former City Council Member Dr. Una S. T. Clarke, making them the first mother-daughter succession in the history of the City Council.

As the representative of the Ninth Congressional District of New York, she has dedicated herself to continuing the legacy of excellence established by the late Honorable Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman and Caribbean American elected to Congress. As an activist, a community organizer and now as a legislator, Congresswoman Clarke’s boldness, compassion and love for the people has allowed her to become an effective leader and an outspoken advocate on numerous issues of great importance to her constituents.

In the 114th Congress, Congresswoman Clarke serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee, responsible for consumer protection, food safety, energy development, public health, communications, the environment, and interstate and international commerce.

In the 111th and 112th Congress, Congresswoman Clarke served on several Committees including Education and Labor, Homeland Security and Small Business. In the 113th Congress, Congresswoman Clarke served on the Committees of Homeland Security, Ethics, and Small Business.

An unwavering champion of her native Brooklyn, she has worked with non-profit organizations, local community groups and appropriators to secure millions of dollars in essential federal support for the district. As a result, major institutions received funds, including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Brooklyn Public Library, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, the Prospect Park Alliance and the New York State Department of Transportation.

As a testament to what Representative Clarke has accomplished in her first term, she received an “A” rating from the Drum Major Institute and TheMiddleClass.org; a 100 percent rating by Peace Action, The Brady Campaign and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); and was the only Member of Congress in the New York Congressional delegation to receive an “A+” rating from the Institute of Policy Studies. She was also named After-School Hero by The After-School Corporation for her work on the House Education and Labor Committee. In May 2009, Rep. Clarke was also presented with an honorary Doctorate Law Degree from St. Francis College.

Congresswoman Clarke currently resides in the neighborhood where she grew up, in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn.