Member Highlight: Meet Diana Berardocco, APR, of Palm Tree Consulting Group
April 22, 2026
WEBA: Hi Ms. Berardocco, we are looking forward to getting to know more about you and your business.
DIANA BERARDOCCO: Thank you for the invitation!
WEBA: To start, tell us about your business: what is your primary product or service, what makes it unique, and
where does your passion for this work come from?
DIANA BERARDOCCO: Palm Tree Consulting Group is a communications strategy practice specializing in helping
business owners, founders, and leaders tell their stories in a way that builds trust and attracts the right clients.
What makes it unique is the J.E.M. Method — a proprietary storytelling framework I developed that defines who an
organization is, why it exists, and what it means to the people it serves.
In a world where AI can generate content in seconds, the one thing it cannot do is find the human truth inside
someone’s work. That is what I do. Your story is your most powerful marketing tool.
My passion comes from a deep personal place. My father died at 40 from heart disease, and that loss shaped how I
think about health, family, and the impact our choices and systems have on people’s lives. I am especially passionate
about health, wellness, and prevention and about clear, compelling communication that makes complex ideas feel
human, understandable, and actionable.
Whether I am working with a local business, founders, consultants, non-profit leaders, or a community organization,
my focus is the same: helping leaders tell honest, human stories that reflect their values, connect with the people they
serve, and support the outcomes they care about — for their clients, their teams, and their communities.
WEBA: What a thoughtful answer! What has been the biggest challenge you have faced in the business world?
DIANA BERARDOCCO: Building a business as a solopreneur means you are the strategist, the marketer, the
accountant, and the chief everything officer — all at once. The biggest challenge has been learning to trust my own
expertise enough to put it forward confidently. When you have spent a career helping other people communicate
their value, turning that lens on yourself can be surprisingly difficult.
WEBA: Very true. And to that point, we all need people to help us grow in life: who or what has been the strongest
source of support for running a successful business, and what is your best networking advice?
DIANA BERARDOCCO: Over the years, communities like the Career Network Ministry and CareerConfidence.org
have been meaningful sources of support. The genuine connections made one conversation at a time with other small
business owners who understand the journey have been invaluable.
My best networking advice is simple: be curious about other people before you talk about yourself. Ask what they are
working on and what they are excited about. Look for an opportunity to share advice, offer an introduction if you
know someone they should meet, or provide something useful to what they just told you.
WEBA: We imagine this advice will be very useful to other business owners of the West End, and we always
appreciate centering community as a means for expansion. What is one major business goal you are focused on
achieving in the next 12 months?
DIANA BERARDOCCO: I am launching a newsletter called The Prevention Conversation — a publication that
explores the gap between what we know about healthy aging, what we actually do about it, and what the science says.
Over the next 12 months, my goal is to build a meaningful readership and connect with leaders and mission-driven
organizations in health, aging, and prevention who are dedicated to improving people’s lives and are looking for a
communications strategist who understands their world and can help them achieve their goals.
WEBA: How interesting! We will make sure to check it out. What is the most rewarding part of running your
business here in Alexandria?
DIANA BERARDOCCO: Alexandria has a remarkable community of independent business owners who genuinely
support each other. There is something about this city — its history, its diversity, its spirit — that makes showing up
as your authentic self feel not only acceptable but welcomed. That energy fuels the work.
WEBA: How has being a member of WEBA benefited your business or connected you with the community?
DIANA BERARDOCCO: I joined WEBA to enjoy and explore the connections available through the community.
What drew me to membership was the opportunity to meet fellow Alexandria business owners who share a
commitment to building something meaningful and I look forward to growing those relationships in the year ahead.
WEBA: We are thrilled to be able to offer that to community members like yourself and hope to see you at many of
our events throughout the year! One last question, just for fun: what celebrity would you most like to patronize
your business?
DIANA BERARDOCCO: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN medical correspondent, brain health advocate, and author. Dr.
Gupta has spent his career making complex health science accessible and relevant to a broad public. That is exactly
the kind of communication I aim to help my clients create.
WEBA: Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions, Ms. Berardocco. It has been wonderful
getting to know more about you and we wish you and your business all the best!
We hope you enjoyed learning more about Diana and Palm Tree Consulting Group. Please visit the Palm Tree
Consulting Group website and check out The Prevention Conversation newsletter as well. We also hope you say
HELLO when you next see Ms. Berardocco at a WEBA event!