Rising Stars: Meet Ria Rueda

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ria Rueda.

Hi Ria, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
After college, I thought I was going to go to law school but before doing so, I wanted to live in some other cities in the States to experience some independence. I lived in Chicago, Washington DC, and San Francisco before returning to L.A. for a job at Warner Bros. Animation…not to law school. The world of animation was wonderful but I decided to take another path.. a path to public relations. I dove in and interned at Fox Studios and eventually made my way to Bragman Nyman Cafarelli (BNC) as an Account Supervisor overseeing luxury fashion accounts such as the Diamond Information Center, Salvatore Ferragamo, JP Tods, and Dom Perignon to name a few. After BNC, I ended up working in-house as the Sr. Manager of Public Relations for the Girls Brands at Mattel. After several years, we relocated to the East Coast for work and lived in Westport, Conn. commuting to Manhattan for consulting jobs. I was always a Consumer Products P.R. gal and shifted gears after accepting a position as the Director of Public Relations for a restaurant group. My connections in this industry allowed me to start my own company, Bread & Butter Marketing, as a side hustle which later turned into a full-time gig. I represented a variety of restaurant real estate developers and coordinated galas and events for non-profit groups and regional publications.

Several years ago, I was offered the opportunity to be a Brand Ambassador for Monogram Appliances and manage their first Monogram Design Center in Connecticut. This was a unique opportunity because it was their first design center within a retailer, Aitoro Appliance, and it was a good way to introduce this brand to the Fairfield County market who was more familiar with other luxury kitchen brands. Last December, I made the decision to return to my home state of California. At that point, I got the word out hoping that there was a job opportunity for me in Southern California and after a four month interview process, I was offered a marketing position at Fisher & Paykel’s North America headquarters in Costa Mesa. I oversee their flagship Experience Center, educating builders, architects, designers, and consumers about the Fisher & Paykel premium luxury appliance brand. I love my job because it allows me to be a publicist, event coordinator, educator, and I get to meet a lot of talented people in the home and design industry.

I love to keep myself busy by volunteering for local agencies assisting the food insecure, domestic violence, cancer awareness, and pet rescues.

One other fun passion project is the creation of @a_girlsguidetomidlife. It’s an Instagram page that I started last year whose goal is to embrace midlife and proaging. I discuss everything from menopause, divorce, and relationships to fashion, style, and wellness.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Overall, I was very fortunate to have had an interesting career path and land in positions that helped expand my horizons. I can only recall two major struggles. One main struggle and one thing I disliked about owning my own business was having to deal with clients who no longer had a budget to pay for my services. Clearly, it was a mismanagement of funds on their part and being inconsiderate. Another struggle was having to hustle and find clients to make up for lost clients. Some people thrive and love the chase and the get. It’s exciting for a bit and then I got tired and preferred the security of being in-house at an established company. As a single mom with some debt, every penny counts, and so do benefits!

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My current role is Manager of the Fisher & Paykel Experience Center located at the North America headquarters in Costa Mesa, California. This Experience Center is a 7000 square foot space showcasing the world of Fisher & Paykel appliances. Designed and developed in New Zealand, Fisher & Paykel is a luxury premium appliance manufacturer. One of the things I love about my job is having the opportunity to educate architects, builders, designers, and consumers about this Brand. There are other luxury kitchen Brands that people are more familiar with and I love to show others that there are other innovative, functional, and sustainable brands outside of the brands that they’re only aware of. We invite these design tastemakers to the Experience Center to tour our showroom, provide the back story of Fisher & Paykel, and finally have our guests enjoy a gourmet chef-prepared meal so they can see the products in action at our Chef’s Table. We also host curated events from speaker panels and industry networking meetings to culinary events.

Outside of the office, I’ve taken my PR skills to social media by creating an Instagram page @a_girlsguidetomidlife. As a proage midlife woman, I wanted to create an online community where we can embrace aging and discuss everything from menopause, divorce, relationships, and family dynamics to fashion, style, and wellness.

I’m most proud of not giving up. I’ve celebrated some great achievements but I’ve also had to endure a lot of losses too. I allow myself to feel sorry for myself, cry, get mad, and be depressed, and then I get up and dust myself off and move forward. It takes a lot of faith, hope, affirmations, and strength to move forward. Some days are harder than others but I’m where I am now because I’ve learned from my mistakes, and I have the drive to live the next half of my life to the fullest and on my own terms.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @a_girlsguidetomidlife
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/riarueda/

Image Credits
Photo: Jerri Graham (black and white photo)