Yvette D. Clarke is the incumbent U.S. Representative for NY-9 and a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. A Brooklyn native who succeeded her mother on the New York City Council, she has served in Congress since 2007, first for the 11th District and, since 2013, for the 9th. Her official biography highlights work on technology and media policy, health legislation for women, and Caribbean-American issues.[1][2][3]
Clarke was born on November 21, 1964, in Flatbush, Brooklyn, to Jamaican immigrant parents; her official biography says she grew up in Flatbush, where she still lives.[2][3] According to Ballotpedia she attended Oberlin College from 1982 to 1986, and her official biography describes her as an Oberlin graduate and a recipient of the APPAM/Sloan Fellowship in Public Policy and Policy Analysis, and lists honorary degrees from the University of Technology, Jamaica and the University of the Commonwealth Caribbean.[1][2] Before entering elected office, she served as director of business development for the Bronx Empowerment Zone (BOEDC).[1]
Clarke served on the New York City Council from 2000 to 2007 for the 40th District in Brooklyn, succeeding her mother, Council Member Una S. T. Clarke, in what her official biography says was the first mother-daughter succession in the Council's history.[1][2] She took office in the U.S. House in 2007 representing New York's 11th Congressional District and has represented the 9th District since the 2013 redistricting.[1][2] She is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, which her official biography says she chairs.[1][2] She sits on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where her 2025-2026 subcommittee assignments are Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade; Communications and Technology; and Oversight and Investigations, and in the 117th Congress she chaired the Homeland Security subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Innovation.[1][2]
Clarke co-chairs the Congressional Caribbean Caucus, Smart Cities Caucus, Multicultural Media Caucus (which she formed), Caucus on Black Women and Girls, and Medicare for All Caucus, according to her official biography.[2] The biography lists, among her 118th Congress legislation, the DEEPFAKES Accountability Act, the REAL Political Ads Act, the Menopause Research Equity Act, and the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Uterine Fibroid and Education Act.[2] She is an active member of the Brooklyn Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and lives in Flatbush, according to the same biography.[2]
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.
