From Writer to Strategic Communications Consultant: How Ruby Veridiano Built Gold Thread Communications on the Power of Emotionally Resonant Narratives

Ruby Veridiano's path has never been linear, but somehow, all the dots connect. She started as a spoken word poet, arts activist, and journalist working with young women in vulnerable communities. She studied Sociology of World Development, earned a Master's in Global Communications from The American University of Paris, and became a contributing correspondent for NBC News, covering Paris and New York Fashion weeks. She worked on the Corporate Social Responsibility team at LVMH in Paris, served as Senior Manager of Storytelling & Global Content at Cascale (formerly Sustainable Apparel Coalition), and published a book of poetry called "Miss Universe."

Today, Ruby is the Founder and Chief Storyteller of Gold Thread Communications, a global communications consultancy serving purpose-led brands in fashion, sustainability, and social impact. Her approach is informed by her identity as an artist and her history as an arts educator on the field. That lived experience taught her two things: the importance of building emotionally resonant narratives to inspire change, and how decisions made in head offices truly impact people on the ground.

Ruby has spoken at hundreds of venues across the USA, Europe, and Asia, including Cornell University, the United Nations, and Columbia University. She facilitates storytelling workshops that help employees connect their personal mission with their work, creating spaces for belonging, inspiration, and imagination. Her client testimonials describe her as "a creative and strategic thought partner" who "skillfully adopts and refines the voice of the organizations she partners with, ensuring that every communication feels authentic and aligned."

As the daughter of immigrants raised in Sacramento, California, Ruby brings a vantage point that helps her tell stories that are intersectional, inclusive, and culturally relevant. She's worked across three continents and built a business that allows her to maintain her own voice and independence while supporting organizations. She launched Gold Thread Communications shortly after turning 40, and while she used to wish things had happened earlier, she now believes the timing was absolutely right.

In this conversation, Ruby shares how her early years as a poet and arts educator shape the way she approaches communications differently than traditional professionals, how taking the entrepreneurial route allowed her to reclaim her creative life while serving clients, and her advice for other women building consulting businesses about pricing workshops that involve personal transformation, doing the inner work to embrace your worth, and not being afraid to take up space and dream as big as your soul calls you to.

Question 1: You started your career as a poet, arts activist, and journalist before working on the Corporate Social Responsibility team at LVMH in Paris and then as Senior Manager of Storytelling & Global Content at Cascale (formerly Sustainable Apparel Coalition). That's quite a journey from spoken word poetry to corporate sustainability. What made you realize that your gift for storytelling could become a business, and how did those early years as a poet and arts educator shape the way you approach communications consulting differently than traditional Communications professionals?

It was indeed quite a journey! My path has not been linear, but somehow, all the dots connect. At the core, my storytelling approach is informed by my identity as an artist and my history working as an arts educator on the field with young women in vulnerable communities. This lived experience taught me two things: the importance of building emotionally resonant narratives to inspire change, and how decisions that get made in head offices truly impact people on the ground. 

The vantage point I bring helps me to tell stories that are intersectional, inclusive, and culturally relevant, which are all important in connecting with the next generation of employees, leaders, consumers, and globally connected citizens who are demanding better from their governments, the business they support, their employers, and the world at large. 

After completing my Master’s Degree in Global Communications, I was better able to understand (from both a technical and creative perspective) just how storytelling was being used to create narratives that power different types of organizations, from non-profits and NGOs, to media platforms, to brands. 

After gaining experience in all three spaces, I was confident in my ability to create value as both a writer and a narrative strategist, aligning my skillsets with my purpose. What I have built with Gold Thread Communications is not just a career, but a calling to use my gifts in service of my mission to shape a better world by helping purpose-driven organizations tell their stories. 

Question 2: You've spoken at hundreds of venues across the USA, Europe, and Asia, including Cornell University, the United Nations, and Columbia University, and you've published a book called "Miss Universe." You've also a contributing correspondent for NBC News covering Paris and New York Fashion weeks. As someone who straddles the worlds of journalism, speaking, writing, and consulting, how do you balance being both a storyteller with your own platform and a communications consultant amplifying other people's voices? Have there been moments where those roles conflicted?

I feel so seen by this question! Thank you for asking. There have absolutely been moments when those roles have conflicted, primarily when I was working in-house for employers. For many years, I felt the tension of this conflict. As an employee, my voice was very much attached to the company, and by default, an extension of their organization, so I felt a lot more limited in my ability to own and share my voice. 

However, as a consultant and a fractional communications executive, I get to have the best of both worlds: I get to support & collaborate with organizations, while still maintaining my own voice and independence. When I develop business, I also have the intention of co-creating and collaborating with values-aligned clients, so most of them understand and support my creative life. 

Taking the entrepreneurial route has really been a game-changer for me. It was definitely not easy, and it took a lot out of me. It is the road less traveled for good reason, but it has been so worth it. Thanks to my business, I was able to return to my creative life, which is the vital energy that powers my life force. It’s a win-win too: when I get to be creative, I get to show up for my clients with more energy, dedication and vibrancy. 

Question 3: You facilitate storytelling workshops that help employees connect their personal mission with their work to create "a space for belonging, spark inspiration, and foster imagination." That's a vulnerable ask in a corporate setting. As a female founder and immigrant daughter raised in Sacramento who's worked across continents, what advice would you give to other women building consulting businesses about pricing workshops that involve personal transformation, maintaining boundaries while creating safe spaces, and positioning yourself as both a strategic partner and a creative thought leader?

A lot of my development as a business owner was thanks to the business coaches that mentored me to the process. So I’ll start with a practical piece of advice: if you’re building a business and you have the capacity to invest in a business coach, DO IT. It has been the smartest investment for me, because my coaches have taught me both practical business moves AND mindset shifts = two of the most important pillars of entrepreneurship. 

When I was pricing my services, I was afraid of charging too high. But one of my business coaches encouraged me to do market research in my field, and that’s how I realized that I was undercharging. Another coach asked me to read “The Law of Divine Compensation” by Marianne Williamson, connecting the spiritual and emotional connection to money with its practical uses, and it gave me more reinforcement that the work I do should be priced in a way that reflects not only the value I bring, but the time and energy I use to create solutions that make our work more human/humane. 

At the end of the day, what fuels my conviction is knowing that I’ve paid my dues. I’ve put in the work, I’ve gained the skills, I’ve acquired the knowledge, and I’m confident in my ability to provide solutions that deliver tangible results for my clients. I also did the inner work to fully embrace my worth. All of these amounted to concrete evidence that I can succeed.

But this was a process acquired over 20+ years! I started my business shortly after I turned 40, and as much as I wanted things to happen at an earlier age, I think the timing was absolutely right. By the time I got to my forties, I felt much more steady in both my professional experience and personal wisdom to enforce boundaries while creating safe spaces, and a lot more solid in my ability to contribute real value to my clients & partners. 

I’ve learned to trust every challenge, every detour, and every delay. It truly does get greater, later. If you’re in a season of challenges, be encouraged that you are learning something in this season that will equip you to have the internal certainty that cannot be swayed by external circumstances. In work and life, there will always be ups and downs. But when your inner foundation is strong, you can anchor yourself in the conviction that you can hold yourself down and lift yourself up at the same time. 

Finally, as the daughter of immigrants, I want to say: do not be afraid to take up space and allow yourself to dream as big as your soul calls you to. Our parents made a lot of sacrifices, and many of us are taught to pursue the ‘safe routes’, but please don’t limit your possibility by deciding to only stay in the lanes that you are ‘supposed’ to be in. 

Poet Nikita Gil said it best when she wrote: 

“Your ancestors did not survive

everything that nearly ended them

for you to shrink yourself

to make someone else comfortable.

This sacrifice is your warcry, be loud,

be everything and make them proud.”

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