CHSS Distinguished Alumni - Russian and Eurasian Studies

Kira Clark is the founder the nonprofit organization K9s Serving Vets which was born of the trials she faced after leaving her military career path. Her interest in foreign language, developed from experiencing various cultures during her teen years, led her to studying the Spanish language and subsequently to joining the United States Army as a linguist and studying the Russian language at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center at the Presidio of Monterey, California. 

Clark was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army due to medical conditions and moved to the Northern Virginia area where she joined the team of RR Donnelly Financial in Roslyn, Virginia. There she worked her way to becoming a billing liaison between the Roslyn location and several others across the nation. 

During her time at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, Clark traveled abroad for immersion courses and earned a BA in Spanish language and Russian studies. While serving in the United States Army she earned an associate of arts degree in Russian language from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center at the Presidio of Monterey. As an ardent supporter of military service members and veterans Clark has donated her time and efforts to veteran organizations for years. She experienced first-hand how life-changing it can be when a veteran is paired with a service dog after partnering with her own service dog. She then became a strong advocate of helping other veterans in need of service dogs. Having created fundraisers for organizations who partner veterans with service dogs she saw a way to have a direct impact on improving the lives of veterans through service dogs. She is now the founder and executive director of K9s Serving Vets, a nonprofit organization that guides veterans to the proper service organizations and trainers for their needs. 

Clark’s latest venture is forming her company SassKo, a combination of names from her first and current service dogs. The company’s first product is a patented service dog alert system to assist veterans, senior citizens, and anyone who needs a way to send a medical SOS when they cannot. She continues to devote herself to standing with her fellow veterans in need of service dogs.