Meet Tev Clarke

We recently connected with Tev Clarke and have shared our conversation below.

Tev, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

My resilience is not something I was simply born with; it is something I had to intentionally build, shaped by the women who came before me and the responsibilities I carried early in life.

It begins with my grandmother, whom I named Netlyn Mae & Co. after. She only had a basic school education, but she was brilliant in ways no classroom could measure. She always believed education was the gateway to opportunity, and she lived her life proving that values and morals matter more than circumstance. She made the sacrifice of immigrating to the U.K., leaving her children in Jamaica, not because she wanted to, but because she believed in creating a better generational future. From her, I learned that resilience is sacrifice with purpose.

My mother, a single parent and a police officer, reinforced those lessons. She was building her career in a male-dominated department, pushing through barriers every day. Because her role required her to be away during the week, she entrusted me with responsibility at a young age. That trust taught me accountability and showed me that resilience often means carrying more than what feels fair, but doing it anyway. She modeled that financial stability matters, and that leadership is as much about discipline as it is about sacrifice.

That reality meant I had to mature quickly. I had a nanny who ensured the basics such as food, school, and homework, but the deeper work of growing up, the emotional self-guidance, the accountability, the decisions, was mine to carry. As an only child until college, I became my own anchor. I learned how to steady myself when things felt uncertain, how to take ownership instead of waiting for someone else to lead, and how to hold myself to a higher standard than anyone else could set for me.

Resilience was not just about responsibility; it was also about navigating mental, behavioral, and emotional health. Growing up that way, there were moments of loneliness, doubt, and the quiet pressure of feeling like I could not afford to fail. I had to learn how to manage those emotions instead of letting them manage me. I developed habits of self-checking, pausing when I felt overwhelmed, and reframing weakness as a signal to adjust rather than a reason to quit. Those practices became as essential as discipline, because you cannot carry resilience on grit alone. You have to protect your mind and spirit too.

Those lessons became the backbone of how I navigate adulthood and especially entrepreneurship. The same way I once had to steady myself as a child, I now steady teams, clients, and businesses. Building a business requires accountability when no one else is watching, adaptability when plans do not unfold as expected, and courage when the risks feel heavier than the reward. It also requires emotional intelligence: knowing when to push, when to pause, and when to recalibrate.

So, when challenges come, I do not waste energy on “why me?” I analyze, I adapt, and I move forward. Every setback is an expensive lesson I refuse to waste. Resilience, to me, is not about ignoring the struggle. It is about managing it with strategy, honesty, and care, so the struggle transforms into strength.

Netlyn Mae & Co. is the living reflection of that inheritance. It carries my grandmother’s force, my mother’s sacrifice, and my own lived resilience, woven together into the way I lead, the way I build, and the way I help others turn challenges into clarity and strength.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

As the CEO & Founder of Netlyn Mae & Co., my “why” has always been clear: to make sure behavioral and mental health providers who are doing life-changing work are seen, trusted, and able to grow. My background spans more than a decade in digital and integrated marketing, public relations, and project management, where I worked on complex campaigns across healthcare and beyond. Along the way, I noticed something important. While large organizations had the resources to amplify their presence, smaller practices and independent clinicians, the ones closest to patients, were often left invisible. That realization is what led me to create Netlyn Mae & Co.

That invisibility is not just a marketing problem. It directly impacts access to care. The National Council for Mental Wellbeing reports that one in four Americans experiences a mental health or substance use challenge each year, yet nearly half do not receive the care they need. On the provider side, the American Psychological Association has found that up to 35 percent of therapy clients drop out of treatment early. When I look at those numbers, I do not just see statistics. I see patients who never find the help they were searching for and providers who are left struggling to sustain their mission. This challenge is what fuels our work.

At Netlyn Mae & Co., we have built an approach that connects visibility to access. We specialize in digital marketing for mental health practices, behavioral health agencies, and independent clinicians who want to grow their patient base. Our work ranges from HIPAA-compliant lead funnels to optimized websites and content strategies designed not only to attract patients but also to keep them engaged in care. I recently wrote about this in our blog, Behavioral Health Patient Retention Strategies: Digital Marketing and Patient Experience to Drive Sustainable Practice Growth, where I explored how retention is just as critical as acquisition. For me, this is not just a strategy. It is purpose-driven work.

The results have been deeply rewarding. Clients who once felt overlooked are now building steady pipelines and forming stronger connections with their patients. Seeing those transformations is what keeps me passionate about this work. As I look ahead, I want to expand even further, especially through partnerships. One of the things I am most excited about is exploring pro bono collaborations with smaller practices and community-based providers. Marketing strategy should never be limited by budget, and I want Netlyn Mae & Co. to be part of making sure providers of all sizes have a chance to thrive.

At the end of the day, Netlyn Mae & Co. is more than a marketing agency. It is a reflection of resilience, strategy, and purpose. Everything we do is designed to help providers show up with clarity, attract patients with confidence, and ultimately make care more accessible for the people who need it most.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I know you asked for three, but I am giving you four, because these four qualities have been the real foundation of my journey. Over time, I have come to see them reflected in four symbols that guide the way I think and work: the lotus, the sage, the onyx, and the daffodil.

Resilience & Adaptability (Lotus)
The lotus blooms in muddy waters, which, for me, is the perfect metaphor for resilience. Growth often happens in the middle of challenges, uncertainty, and setbacks. Resilience is not about forcing yourself to endure. It is about transforming setbacks into lessons and finding ways to move forward with more wisdom. For anyone at the start of their journey, I encourage you to treat obstacles as classrooms. Ask yourself what each experience is teaching you, and carry that lesson with you as a tool for the next step.

Strategic Communication & Influence (Sage)
Sage represents clarity and wisdom, and that is the heart of effective communication. I have learned that even the strongest ideas can be overlooked if they are not communicated in a way that resonates. Communication is more than words. It is about how you listen, how you understand your audience, and how you shape your story so that others can see themselves in it. For those starting out, practice active listening and storytelling. These skills will not only help people understand your ideas, they will help build the trust needed to bring those ideas to life.

Execution Discipline & Structure (Onyx)
Onyx symbolizes strength and grounding, and that is what execution provides for any vision. Dreaming big matters, but vision without structure is just a wish. My experience managing complex campaigns has taught me that execution means having discipline: scoping projects clearly, identifying risks before they become barriers, balancing budgets, and creating stability when things feel chaotic. Here is something that entrepreneurs sometimes overlook. Passion may inspire the work, but you are also running a business. Learn the basics of ROI and customer acquisition. Passion is the fire, but structure is what keeps it burning long enough to create sustainable growth.

Renewal & Collaboration (Daffodil)
The daffodil reminds me of renewal and fresh starts. It also represents the importance of inviting others in. Early in my career, I thought independence meant handling everything alone. Over time, I learned that renewal often comes from collaboration and openness, being willing to ask for help, embrace new ideas, and start fresh when needed. Support sometimes comes from unexpected places, from people outside your immediate circle who hear your vision and want to contribute with their time, tools, or encouragement. Renewal is about trusting others while also trusting yourself enough to let collaboration strengthen your path forward.

Together, these four qualities—resilience, communication, discipline, and renewal—form the blueprint I return to again and again. My advice is to trust your network, but most of all, trust yourself. You are the architect of your own world. Design and build the path you envision. There will be doubters and difficult days, but if you keep building on these foundations, what once felt impossible will eventually become inevitable.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

Yes, I would love to collaborate. At Netlyn Mae & Co., collaboration isn’t just a value; it is how we work. We support mission-driven healthcare providers, especially therapists, psychiatrists, small practices, and independent clinicians who want to grow their patient base but feel stretched when it comes to marketing, branding, or strategy. Our role is to help them build visibility, attract the right patients, and create sustainable growth.

Therefore, my ideal partner is someone with vision and purpose, even if they do not have a large budget or a big team. That is often where we do our best work, rolling up our sleeves together to share the responsibility, the creativity, and the challenges that come with building something that lasts.

So, for me, collaboration is NOT only about helping others grow, but it is also about learning how to share the weight of building. I know that weight personally. Like many entrepreneurs, there are days when the responsibility feels overwhelming. In those moments, I turn to the same practices I encourage my clients to use: pause, reset, and refocus. Sometimes that means breaking a big challenge into smaller steps. Sometimes that means asking for help, other times it means simply giving yourself space to breathe. I’ve learned that overwhelm is not failure, it’s a signal to pause, realign, and return stronger.

That is also why I welcome partnerships with entrepreneurs, creatives, and community-based organizations who are passionate about making healthcare more equitable and accessible. Collaboration might look like co-created campaigns, pro bono initiatives for small practices, or strategic projects that amplify awareness of strategic initiatives. The best partnerships always feel like mutual empowerment, where both sides bring something valuable to the table.

One mantra I carry with me is this: “Strength is not survival, it’s becoming.” Resilience, for me, is not about pushing through at all costs. It is about allowing every challenge to shape you into someone sharper, wiser, and better prepared for what is ahead.

So, yes, I would love to connect and can be reached directly at [email protected]. Even if you are unsure what collaboration might look like, let’s start a conversation. We never truly know what opportunities can grow from an open door.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.netlynmae.com