Clara Hart

Clara Hart
Honorary Delegate (South Dakota)
Resettled Refugee from Mozambique

Clara Hart fled Mozambique in the 1960s in fear of political persecution. She was resettled to the United States in 1988 and currently lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Clara completed her degree in political science shortly after her arrival in the U.S., taught cultural competency to nursing students, and served as a counselor for a technical school that is part of the Sioux Falls School District.

Today, Clara is retired and volunteers full-time with many organizations. She has volunteered with Bread for the World, the Sioux Falls Arts Council, the Girl Scouts, the League of Women Voters, Killian Community College, the Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority and the Refugee Women’s Network based in Atlanta, Georgia, where she was president for two years.

Clara is a former Chair of the Refugee Congress Board of Directors and has served on the United Way Board of Directors, as a Killian Community College Trustee and as Vice-Chair of the Rural Metro Ambulance as Vice-Chair, the first refugee to hold such a position. She is a Member of the Southeast Tech Council and serves as a school and home liaison for new refugees coming to Sioux Falls. She is also on the Board of Directors for Sioux Falls Arts Council. In 2016, she co-chaired a State Democratic Convention.

Clara co-founded the Refugee Women’s Association of Sioux Falls. She was president of League of Women Voters briefly but had  to step down when she declared her candidacy for public office. Clara has run for political office twice and is most proud contributing to her community through her ongoing activism against anti-refugee bills introduced in the legislature.

She spent two weeks at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, to complete an independent study in international relations. Her hobbies include traveling to new parts of the world, learning new languages and speaking about the future for refugees and other vulnerable persons.

In the News:

Do you want to invite Clara to speak at an upcoming event? Please fill out this contact form (reporters, please call 202-905-6238 for time-sensitive requests).