Serena Rasberry Clark is the recipient of the 2011 Kent Wyatt Young Alumnus Service Award presented by the Delta State University Alumni Association. The award is presented annually to recognize outstanding service and contributions to Delta State University by a young alumnus (36 years of age or younger). Clark will be honored during the Alumni Awards and Gala Dinner on Friday, November 4, at 7 p.m. in the Walter Sillers Coliseum as part of Delta State’s 2011 Homecoming festivities.
A native of Kosciusko and 1993 graduate of Canton Academy, Clark spent her time at Delta State preparing for law school. Before earning an English degree from Delta State in 1997, she was involved with the Student Government Association, Omicron Delta Kappa, Delta Delta Delta, Diamond Girls and interned for Sen. Trent Lott.
While earning a master of liberal studies degree at Millsaps College, Clark was director of community youth partnerships and statewide partners for Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi. A Herrin Hess Scholar at the Mississippi College School of Law, she earned a jurisprudence degree in 2004 and immediately joined Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens and Cannada PLLC as an associate attorney in the firm’s liability and general litigation departments.
In 2008, Gov. Haley Barbour tapped Clark to serve as a policy advisor and legislative and agency liaison on issues involving technology, communications, energy, gaming, bond, tax and economic development. Most notably, she counseled the governor and worked with state lawmakers on all tax code changes, including the Mississippi Cigarette Tax Bill of 2009.
Clark joined Wise Carter Child & Caraway PA in 2010 as an associate attorney for administrative law, regulated industries, insurance defense and government relations. Last fall, she joined Mississippi College School of Law as an adjunct professor for federal and state administrative law and practice, and established AvantGarde Strategies LLC, a government relations consulting firm.
Concurrently since 2007, she has been a group fitness instructor for Fitness Lady and has completed multiple marathons and half-marathons, including the prestigious Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC, which draws 30,000 runners annually.
A Leadership Attala graduate, Clark is a life member of the Junior Auxiliary Madison-Ridgeland Chapter and an officer in the Delta State Alumni Association. In 2010, the Mississippi Business Journal named her one of the state’s 50 Leading Business Women.
Clark stays involved with PTA groups at Madison Station Elementary and Madison Central High School, where her children Carter, 15, Cooper, 10, and Chaney, 5, attend school.
Tickets for the Alumni Awards and Gala Dinner are on sale now for $20 per ticket. For more information or to purchase a ticket, please contact the alumni office at 662-846-4660 or email alumni@deltastate.edu. The Gala Dinner will take place Friday, November 4, on the campus of Delta State University at Walter Sillers Coliseum. The social starts at 6 p.m. leading to the dinner at 7 p.m. Visit the Delta State alumni website, by clicking on the Alumni & Friends tab off of the main Delta State webpage for the full schedule of events for Homecoming 2011.
