| Charity Clark | |
| Office: | 28th Attorney General of Vermont |
| Governor: | Phil Scott |
| Term Start: | January 5, 2023 |
| Predecessor: | Susanne Young |
| Birth Date: | 15 July 1975 |
| Birth Place: | Springfield, Vermont, U.S. |
| Spouse: | Robert Lietar (divorced) |
| Children: | 1 |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Education: | University of Vermont (BA) Boston College (JD) |
Charity Rae Clark (born July 15, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served as Vermont Attorney General since January 2023.
Charity Rae Clark[1] was born in Springfield, Vermont on July 15, 1975.[2] [3] She was raised in Manchester, Vermont[4] [5] and resides in Williston, Vermont.[6] She is a descendant of Thomas Chittenden, the first governor of Vermont.[5] Her father, Marshall Clark, owned a supermarket in Londonderry, Vermont.[5] [7] Her mother, Melody MacGinnis Reed, was executive director of the non-profit arts organization Gallery at the VAULT in Springfield.[7] Clark graduated from Burr and Burton Seminary in 1993.[5] Her siblings include a twin sister, Chelsea.[3] She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Vermont in 1997[8] and served as a policy analyst in the administration of Governor Howard Dean.[5] She then enrolled at Boston College Law School, earning her Juris Doctor degree in 2005.[5]
After passing the bar, Clark joined the Burlington, Vermont firm of Downs, Rachlin Martin as an associate attorney.[9] She later worked in New York City, where she was an attorney with the firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.[7]
In 2014, William Sorrell, then the attorney general of Vermont, hired Clark as an assistant attorney general.[10] [11] She served as the chief of staff to T. J. Donovan for four years while Donovan served as attorney general.[12] She resigned in May 2022.[13]
The week after resigning as Donovan's chief of staff, Clark announced her candidacy for state attorney general in the 2022 Vermont Attorney General election, as Donovan was not seeking reelection.[14] Clark defeated Rory Thibault, the states attorney for Washington County, in the Democratic Party primary election, 58% to 28%.[15] In the November 8 general election, she faced Republican Mike Tagliavia, a first-time candidate who is not an attorney,[16] and won the election with 65% of the vote, becoming the first woman ever elected Attorney General of Vermont.[17] [18] In 2024, Clark was reelected.[19]
In May 2011, Clark married Robert Lietar, a television producer and documentary filmmaker.[20] Their ceremony took place at Hildene, the Robert Todd Lincoln home in Manchester, Vermont.[20] They later divorced, and are the parents of a daughter.[21]