About Robert Clarke
Robert has been a resident of Solvang for 17 years. He was raised in California, attended grade school in La Canada and finished high school in Newport Beach. Robert studied business at Golden West College, Diablo Valley College and then completed studies at the New York Institute of Finance. While living and working in Ventura back in 1996, Robert met his future wife, Alicja, while she was visiting California, after graduating from Nursing School in Legnica, Poland. Married for 25 years now, he feels blessed to have raised his children in this beautiful town of Solvang. Natalia and Allen both attended Solvang Elementary, and Santa Ynez Valley Union Valley high school. Natalia, at 23, graduated from the University of San Francisco in 2020 with a degree in Politics. She currently is a creative director for a firm in San Francisco. Allen at 21 will soon be graduating from UCSB with a degree in Economics and will pursue a career in accounting. Proof that the apple can fall far from the tree! Robert has volunteered, raised money for, or served on the boards of, over 20 different organizations, teams, and groups here in the valley. He also served for 7 years on the City of Solvang Planning Commission.
Work Background
Robert started his career with Redwood Bank in San Francisco. Went on to work for Transamerica, and then to New York where he spent three years on the floor of the stock exchange. In 1990 he moved over to the lumber industry, traveling, and doing business, all over the west coast, Mexico, Canada, and China. It was in this capacity that he met the Andersen family, of Nielsen Building Materials, accepted a position, and moved to Solvang.
Passions
Besides being with his family, Robert has a passion for: Flying fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, surfing, waterskiing, politics, and most of all history. His library of non-fiction is up to 1100 volumes and he loves talking about, and sharing his books, and his perspective on politics and history.
Robert is very proud to serve the citizens of this beautiful town.