Carlisle Clarke joined VSA as a Vice President after more than a decade on Capitol Hill. Most recently, he served as the Majority Clerk of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Related Agencies, which has jurisdiction over more than $140 billion in mandatory and discretionary spending.
Carlisle has been at the center of the most consequential agriculture related policy debates in recent years and is well-versed on pressing issues with FDA. He has been immersed in the issues of agriculture, conservation, rural development, food safety, and medical product safety. Carlisle knows the major stakeholders for these issue areas and would regularly brief Senators and staff on the Administration’s budget, appropriations bills, and emerging policy. He also served on the Presidential transition team, helping to craft a policy priority framework for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the incoming Administration.
Earlier in his career, Clarke assisted in a wide array of policy issues during his time working for Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran, including: agriculture, water, justice, fish & wildlife, rural development, forestry, nutrition, conservation, commodity trading, immigration, bioenergy, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Prior to his time with the Senator, he was a professional staffer at the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry for Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia.
Carlisle is a graduate of the University of Georgia.
