GUYANESE woman by birth, Hon. Sharon Clarke who was an attorney in Brooklyn, New York was elected on Tuesday as Brooklyn’s newest Civil Court Judge in the 6th Municipal District.

After Brooklyn residents threw their support behind her, she was successful in an election, coming out on top with 53.76% of the votes.
Clarke had been campaigning and working hard in New York while receiving support from her fellow Guyanese in Brooklyn and also in Guyana. She was one of three contestants working to earn the spot.
Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, Clarke said that she is very proud of the fact that she was born in Guyana and most of her team members are also Guyanese. She said that she is happy with the results, being elected Brooklyn’s newest judge.
Clarke is the mother of two beautiful sons, whom she adores. She was born in Guyana to a Barbadian father and a Guyanese mother. She was raised in Guyana and Barbados, and her family moved to Brooklyn, NY when she was thirteen. Her parents instilled in her and her siblings the value of education and a great work ethic from a young age.
Her aunt inspired her to give back to the community through volunteering and helped her to understand that she had an obligation to play an active role in her community. She fondly recalls receiving her first award for volunteer work from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office while in junior high school. She recently volunteered at the United States Supreme Court as a Lecturer in Supreme Court History.
She is an attorney with over twenty years of legal experience. She has been a zealous advocate for equal access to justice her entire career. Clarke is the founder and CEO of Central Brooklyn Legal Services Corp. (CBLS). She has also volunteered as a Mediator for the Brooklyn Mediation Center and currently serves as an Arbitrator in Civil Court – Small Claims Part in Brooklyn.
Clarke’s legal career began by representing the indigent at the Legal Aid Society, Criminal Division in Queens, NY. Her work also includes representing the City of New York as Counsel in the Office of Corporation Counsel and she has also served as Deputy General Counsel at the NYS Division of Human Rights.
She was selected to participate on the Matrimonial Access to Justice Task Force in 2004 with then Chief Justice Judith Kaye. She served on Governor Paterson’s New York Hate Crimes Task Force in 2009, the New York State Government Cyber Security Task Force and on a New York State Executive Committee to review hiring practices of police departments statewide.
Clarke holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Administration from Harvard University – Kennedy School of Government. She earned her Juris Doctor degree at City University of New York Law School, and holds a Bachelor’s degree from Brooklyn College. She remains committed to serving the residents of Brooklyn.

(By Asif Hakim)