Return to Team Page

Sara Hessenflow Harper

Sara Hessenflow Harper is a partner at The Clark Group. Working in both the Richmond, VA and Washington, DC offices, Sara’s work focuses on agricultural and corporate sustainability issues, environmental services markets and ag-environment strategic coalition-building.

Sara's experties in the policy areas of agriculture, energy, and environment spans a decade in Washington, DC. Prior to her current position, Sara served as the national security and climate policy analyst for the national non-profit environmental group, Environmental Defense. While there, she helped design policy to accredit and launch new bio-energy markets and build strategic coalitions with the agricultural sector. As the lead legislative assistant for Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) on agriculture, environment and energy issues, Sara was responsible for crafting legislation that would have rewarded farmers for pro-environmental services on their lands and created tax credits for international forest preservation. Sara went on to become the lead foreign policy and national security advisor for Sen. Brownback focusing on the Middle East and China.

Sara received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Kansas State University. She grew up in Beloit, Kansas, and is the granddaughter of farmers on both sides of her family.

Check out Sara’s blog on pragmatic environmentalism at: www.ecopragmatism.blogspot.com