Clay Pell

Herbert Claiborne "Clay" Pell IV (born November 17, 1981) is an American lawyer, military officer, and politician. He is a lieutenant and judge advocate in the United States Coast Guard, and served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Foreign Language Education in the United States Department of Education. He is the grandson of the late Senator Claiborne Pell. Pell ran an unsuccessful campaign for the 2014 Democratic Party nomination for Governor of Rhode Island, which he lost to Rhode Island State Treasurer Gina Raimondo.

Early life and education
Pell was born on November 17, 1981 at Tucson, Arizona, to the late Herbert C. Pell III and Eugenia Stillman Diehl Pell. Pell is the grandson of the late Senator Claiborne Pell and Nuala Pell (the granddaughter of A&P grocery chain founder George Huntington Hartford ).

Pell attended The Thacher School and graduated in 2000. He also attended School Year Abroad's schools in Zaragoza, Spain (1999) and Beijing, China (2001). He graduated from Harvard College in 2005 with high honors and a bachelor's degree in Social Studies. Pell went on to graduate from Georgetown University Law Center with a J.D.. Pell has received a Citation in Modern Standard Arabic. He graduated first in his class from the Coast Guard Direct Commission Officer School.

Career
Pell is a lieutenant and judge advocate in the United States Coast Guard. Pell served as Director for Strategic Planning on the National Security Staff, and was a White House Fellow from 2011 to 2012.

In 2013, Pell served for six months as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of International and Foreign Language Education at the United States Department of Education. His support for language education and cultural proficiency was recognized by the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages which presented him with its Advocacy Award in 2014—an award Pell's grandfather received in 1988. On January 27, 2014, Pell confirmed he would run for Governor of Rhode Island in the 2014 election. His wife,Michelle Kwan, has appeared in TV ads on his behalf to garner support among female voters for the September 9th, 2014 primary. Pell placed third in the Democratic primary, which was won by Gina Raimondo.

Personal life
Pell is married to two-time Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan. The two met in April 2011, and were married in January 2013 at Providence, RI. They reside on the east-side of Providence, Rhode Island. Pell is a Christian.

Pell speaks English, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic.