MURIEL BOWSER
MAYOR
Feb
ruary 10, 2025
The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman
Council of the D istrict of Colu
mbia
John A. Wilson
Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 504
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Chairman Mende lson:
In accordance with section 2 of the Confirmation Act of 1978, effective March 3, 1979 (D.C. Law 2-
142; D.C.
Official Code § 1-523.01), and pursuant to section 4 of the Food Policy Council and Director
Establishment Act of 2014, effective March 10, 2015, D.C. Law 20-191, D.C. Official Code § 48-3
123,
I am pleased to nominate the following individual:
Ms. Rachel C lark
Quincy Place, NE
Washington,
DC 20002
(Ward 5 )
for reappointment as a public member of th e Food Policy Council for a
term to end March 1, 2028.
Enclosed, you will find biographical information detailing the experience of the above-mentioned
nominee, together with a proposed resolution to assist the Council during the confirmation process.
I would appreciate the Council’s earliest consideration of this nomination for confirmation. Please
do not hesitate to contact me, or Steven Walker, Director, Mayor’s Office of Talent and
Appointments, should the Council require additional information.
Sincerely,
Muriel Bowser
Mayor 1
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A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
~ -~~
'thairman Phil Mendelson
at the request
of the Mayor
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
To confirm the reappointment
of Rachel Clark to the Food Policy Council.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the "Food Policy Council Rachel Clark Confirmation Resolution
of
2025".
Sec. 2. The Council
of the District of Columbia confirms the reappointment of:
Rachel Clark
Quincy Place, NE
Washington, DC 20002
(Ward 5)
as a public member
of the Food Policy Council, established by section 3 of the Food Policy
Council and Director Establishment Act
of 2014, effective March 10, 2015 (D. C. Law 20-191;
D.C. Official
Code§ 48-312), for a term to end March 1, 2028.
Sec.
3. The Council of the District of Columbia shall transmit a copy of this resolution,
upon its adoption, to the nominee and to the Mayor.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. RACHEL G. CLARK
EXPERIENCE
GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Washington, DC
Policy Director, Redstone Global Center for Prevention & Wellness, 2021 – present
● Direct and implement the Redstone Center’s District of Columbia and federal policy agenda
focused on public health and sustainability, including intervention strategies for promoting safe
and healthy communities, sustainable food systems, access to public spaces and physical
activity, improved air quality, and active transport
● Collaborate with GW Public Health faculty and researchers to develop and implement policy
-
informed research with real-world applications
● Provide policy guidance to the Center and local organizations on policy initiatives to improve
healthy food access, physical activity, transportation, community health and safety, and
planetary health
● Oversaw research for and drafted major policy report, Neighborhood Park Service: Strategies
for an Activated and Equitable Park System for the District of Columbia
● Collaborate with District agencies and community-based organizations on implementation of
environmental and public health policies and programs
● Draft testimony, policy briefs, and fact sheets to support policy agenda
● Provide written and oral testimony at public hearings and roundtables
● Lead GW-based initiative on decreasing carbon emissions in the healthcare sector as part of the
GW Climate & Health nstitute
● Manage graduate research assistants
DC FOOD POLICY COUNCIL, Washington, DC
Mayoral Appointee, 2022 – present
● Appointed by Mayor Muriel Bowser to serve on coalition of public and government food
leaders advising on policy to achieve an equitable, healthy, and sustainable food system
● Engage with District agencies, residents, and businesses to support development and
implementation of District food policies that address climate change and food system resiliency
● Co-Chair Sustainable Supply Chain Working Group
COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Washington, DC
Legislative Counsel, Committee on Transportation & the Environment, 2018 – 2021
● Drafted over 15 bills related to nutrition, environmental protection, and public health, including
legislation on clean energy and energy efficiency targets, sustainable procurement, nutrition
standards at hospitals and homeless shelters, senior food insecurity, nutrition education for
healthcare providers, food entrepreneurship, urban agriculture, and prenatal and infant
insurance coverage
● Drafted and steered the development and enactment of major omnibus legislation on
sustainable waste management, with provisions targeting food and food packaging waste
● Led Committee oversight of the Department of Energy and the Environment, DC Green Bank,
DC Commission on Climate Change and Resiliency, Department of Public Works, and the DC
Food Policy Council, including preparing oversight questions and drafting official
correspondence with agencies RACHEL G. CLARK
EXPERIENCE (cont.)
● Led senior hunger working group comprising multiple District agencies and community-based
organizations to develop policy interventions to reduce senior food insecurity in the District;
drafted and introduced legislation based on working group recommendations
● Helped secure the passage and funding of legislation improving the nutritional quality of meals
and standards for physical activity at D.C. schools; drafted amendments that addressed
rollbacks to school nutrition requirements and made the District the first major jurisdiction to
prohibit flavored milk in school meals
● Led the Committee’s successful efforts to secure funding for food and nutrition priorities,
including improvements to WIC implementation; enhancements to the school breakfast
program to improve meal quality and increase participation; investment in “food as medicine,”
school wellness, and environmental literacy programs; and the creation of a new Office of
Urban Agriculture
● Supported Committee Chair in her role as Chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of
Governments (MWCOG)’s Ad-Hoc Committee on Food and Agriculture and as Vice-Chair of
Committee on Climate Energy and Environment Policy
● Prepared and staffed Committee Chair for public hearings, committee markups, legislative
meetings, and public events
U.S. FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION, Silver Spring, MD
Regulatory Counsel (on Detail), Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition, 2018
•Assisted the Office of Regulations and Policy with a major rulemaking updating the regulatory
definition of “healthy”; helped facilitate team meetings with nutrition experts, legal advisors,
and Center leadership; served as lead drafter of proposed regulation and preamble
•Advised Center on regulations and guidance documents related to labeling, nutrition, and food
additive safety
Associate Chief Counsel, Office of the Chief Counsel
, 2015 – 2018
● Advised the Center for Tobacco Products on its authorities under the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and other applicable laws and regulations
● Assisted with major proposed rulemaking related to tobacco product manufacturing practices;
participated in site visits and meetings with industry
● Assessed legal risk of and evidentiary support for regulations, guidance, and enforcement
actions
● Reviewed press materials and agency correspondence with Congress and private industry
CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST , Washington, DC
Legal Fellow for Regulatory Affairs, 2014 – 2015
● Authored an 80-page regulatory comment related to food additive safety on behalf of a
stakeholder coalition that became the basis for a lawsuit challenging a final rule
● Drafted citizen petition to FDA to ban the sale of powdered caffeine that resulted in
enforcement action and final guidance declaring the product illegal; helped present petition to
FDA leadership RACHEL G. CLARK
EXPERIENCE (cont.)
● Spearheaded effort to expand allergen labeling regulations to include sesame, including
meeting with FDA and members of Congress
● Advised organization leadership on regulatory and legislative priorities and strategy, including
drafting memoranda on legal vulnerabilities to policy proposals
U.S. DISTRICT COURT, DISTRICT OF VERMONT , Burlington, VT
Law Clerk to the Honorable William K. Sessions III, 2013 – 2014
● Drafted opinions addressing a variety of criminal and civil matters
● Prepared the judge for oral argument when he sat by designation on the Second and Ninth
Circuits; drafted published opinion in the Ninth Circuit
● Assisted in a criminal and a civil trial
EDUCATION
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL, Cambridge, MA
Juris Doctor, cum laude, May 2013
● Harvard Food Law Society, President
●Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, Senior Executive Technical Editor
● Authored independent research paper on racial discrimination at USDA
● Student Attorney in the Harvard Food Law & Policy Clinic
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, New York, NY
Bachelor of Arts in Politics and English, magna cum laude, May 2008 Executive Office of the Mayor – Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments
John A. Wilson Building | 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, Suite 600 | Washington, DC 20004
Rachel Clark
Ms. Rachel Clark is Policy Director of the Redstone Global Center for
Prevention & Wellness at the Milken Institute School of Public Health
at George Washington University, where she leads a policy agenda that
promotes public health and sustainability in the District of Columbia,
including strategies for supporting sustainable food systems, nutrition,
access to public spaces and physical activity, and active transport.
Before joining the Redstone Center, Ms. Clark served as a Legislative
Counsel for the Committee on Transportation & the Environment at the
Council of the District of Columbia, where she helped lead legislative
efforts related to nutrition, environmental protection, and public health.
Before shifting her focus to District policy, she spent several years working at the federal level as
an attorney advisor at the Food & Drug Administration and as a legal fellow at the Center for
Science in the Public Interest, a nutrition and food safety watchdog group.
A Ward 5 resident, Ms. Clark earned her Bachelor of Arts in Politics and English from New York
University and her Juris Doctor from Harvard University . GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Executive Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser
Office of the General Counsel to the Mayor
______________________________________________________________________________
The John A. Wilson Building • 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW • Suite 300 • Washington, D.C. 20004 • Office (202) 724-7681
To: Kimberly A. Bassett, Steve Walker
From: Betsy Cavendish
Date: October 4, 2024
Subject: Legal sufficiency review of a resolution re appointing Rachel Clark as a member
of the Food Policy Council
This is to Certify that this office has reviewed the above- referenced Order and found
it to be legally unobjectionable. If you have any questions in this regard, please do not hesitate
to call Michael Porcello, Deputy General Counsel, Executive Office of the Mayor, at 202-727-
0872, or me at 202-724-7681.
______________________________
Elizabeth Cavendish