Jackie Clarke – “I am just here doing me!

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

Young gifted and Black!

She is unstoppable, ready to take on the world. She is guided by a light from within, full of boundless energy and unwavering in her goals. She has learned how to activate natural talents and develop the skills necessary to achieve whatever she has aimed for.

How does she do this? Where does she find the stamina and strength to keep going?

Well, our Woman Empowered demands more of herself; she continues to raise her standards, and continues to work on her “Why?” She focuses on the mission, a purpose that is beyond her.

Just the act of doing something every day, conditioning herself, to be the person that she wants to be, over a matter of years, has become habit. It has become a part of her, part of who she is. It became automatic. It became her identity.

When all hell breaks loose on the outside, it seems that she barely notices. She has the ability to remain calm on the inside because she is ready, prepared and the best at what she does. She doesn’t tell anyone how she is going to handle the situation she just handles it. Everyone else is panicking and choking, and she just says, “No problem!”

You see, most people are willing to settle for good enough, but not Jackie Clarke. Being the best has meant engineering her life, and not stopping until she gets what she wants, and then she keep’s going.

I had to speak with this young lady, pick her brain, and learn how she does it.

“I was born in Scarborough, and raised in Ajax from the age of three,” Jackie begins. “Ajax life was real simple. We were the only Black family on the street, but we didn’t deal with any racism at all. I went to public school and high school with the same people. I am still in touch with them to this day; I am actually still friends with people I met at the age of four.”

I am a small-town girl. I lived by the lake and loved going for walks.

My dad is Neville Clarke a portrait artist. My dad was a working active father, but he wanted to focus on his artwork, his passion. He was an entrepreneur, and I grew up with my father at home (making breakfast, lunch, picking us up from school). I am my father in so many ways. He was able to maintain a household, and my parents respected each other. His paintings are at the R.O.M in private collections and seeing this, this is where it started for me.”

Jackie’s entrepreneurship journey started when she would put on Spice Girl concerts in her neighbourhood.

“My mom would print out flyers and I would send them to the neighbours. All the neighbours would come out. As I got into high school and college, it was more so me being on committees. There was something about fashion that I was drawn to, so I went into fashion, I thought I was going to be the next Vera Wang.

I did a post grad in event management, and I started volunteering for Fashion Week. I was on PR Teams, and Media Teams, I was carving a path in publicity and had no idea.

I was well connected, but was a nobody, so I came up with moniker “The Well-Connected Nobody.”

She dropped “Nobody,” after a brilliant man (Troy Monaco) reminded her about how incredible she really was.

“When I look back at some of my emails, I wonder; how did this all happen? I was this girl, and no one knew where I came from. I was at school during the day and at events and clubs at night meeting stars, working with celebrities. I started to learn more about publicity and helping people while I was interning.

I remember sending an email to this organization “One Milk Two Sugars.” The header read, ‘Hi Priya; taking a chance on me.’ The internship tested my will power and my want for the industry. I realized that I was working for companies that did not represent me. This is how “Beauty Mark,” came to be.

With Beauty Mark, I was able to get a lot of big brands to pay attention. This went on for five years. It was great. We had vendors and women of colour and White owned brands participating in the Black space.”

She started to do more events, and help organizations get sponsorships.

“I started to apply for PR jobs and then the problem was I was overqualified. One lady told me that she would love to hire me, but she was worried I would poach her client.  Another woman told me that she thought that I would not stay.

I ended up getting a job at a warehouse and I hated it. I was not living in my purpose, but during the day I was still out doing my thing. I ended up getting a job in the warehouse as a recruiter. It allowed me to lead training sessions, which helped me with my public speaking. I elevated in that space in a matter of three months; other people were seeing my capabilities.”

She had to believe that she had what it took. Challenges came up that made her question herself and what she was doing. Without her self-confidence, she might have been tempted to accept defeat, but she found a way to bounce back.

She took the time to understand herself on a deeper level. By doing so, she was empowered to build on her strengths and see where self-improvement was needed.

“My sister and I went back to school. I took a Corporate Communications program at Centennial, the same school that my father teaches at, and I graduated with a 4.0 GPA.

I went into another internship with TAROPR. It is an amazing organization, and this is where I learned the bulk of what I know right now. It was a small agency, but entertainment was calling my name.  On my second day I went to see a film, and then we talked about how we are going to sell this. As an intern I had a lot of responsibility, but I felt heard.”

Her spirit was calling her to do her own thing. It was tough the first two years doing her business, and then COVID-19 happened.

“I am five years into my business I am loving it. When I retire, I want to go back to my roots in fashion, but for now, PR has been my thing.

Unrelenting people don’t run from adversity. They realize that facing a stressful situation head-on is a chance to prove that they can overcome and excel under duress. Jackie’s fortitude comes from her inner voice that say’s “Life is tough, but you’re tougher.”