Eliana Tardio
www.elianatardio.us – eliana@elianatardio.com
Leadership and Management Experience
April 2014 – present
Family Network on Disabilities
PEN Program Director / Diversity & Outreach Director
As the Program Director and Diversity and Outreach Director of the Parent Education Network with the Parent Training and Information Center, my main goal is to provide training and education to families of students with special needs. This position, funded by the department of education, involves the creation of strategic planning to reach diverse communities while keeping families motivated and empowered to believe that they can make a positive difference in the lives of their children.
2008 – present
Living with Passion, Compassion & Style
Tastemaker and Social Media Influencer
www.elianatardio.us – www.elianatardio.com
When my second child with Down syndrome was born, I committed to becoming the best advocate for my children while creating a strong community of families who were experiencing similar circumstances. Over the years, what started as a small project of self-reflection turned into one of the biggest blogs and communities around the world for families of children with Down syndrome. With more than 6 million hits a year and a community of over 300k people, my online network connects and supports families all over the world.
2017
Chuck E. Cheese’s
Latina Mom Diversity Ambassador
#ChuckECheeses
My year-long contract with restaurant giant Chuck E. Cheese empowered me to represent the voices of diverse families in the U.S. through innovative and informative campaigns and online features.
2016
Tylenol® Diversity Ambassador
Blogger and Content Developer for Tylenol@ Online Diversity Campaign #HowWeFamily
Under an exclusive year-long contract, my goal was to promote how families express love and represent diversity in our communities.
December 2013 to December 2014
BARBIE®
Project Ambassador
#BarbieProject
I provided blog material and content development for the Magic of Play campaign seen around the globe.
June 2013 to November 2013
Health Planning Council of SWFL
Communications Director
This year-long contract was for the development of a strategic marketing program for the implementation of the Health Insurance Marketplace in 12 counties of Southwest and Gulf Central, Florida.
As a leader for this project, I created and established the following tools to promote and introduce the program to our diverse community in the area.
- Creation of Bilingual website: English/Spanish – Coding, development, and maintenance of the page
- Public Relations through local media on Radio and TV in English and Spanish
- Development and creation of marketing materials in English, Spanish, and Creole
- Outreach and educational presentations in the 10 counties in both English and Spanish
- Community partnership creation through local networks, school system and nonprofit organizations serving the area.
December 2012 to May 2013
Health Planning Council of SWFL
PR & Marketing Specialist
In this position, I served the Early Steps Program of SWFL as a community leader. My goal was to identify educational opportunities to inform parents, educators and other professionals about the importance of Early Intervention programs in the lives of young children and their families, and its benefit to the community.
As a PR professional, I represented the program in community network meetings and outreach events as well as via local and national media. This required strong leadership skills as well as confidence as it often required the presentation of solid knowledge and a sense of security in order to help others understand the mission of this critical program.
At this position, I was responsible for creating outreach reports to determine the impact of our brand in the community and our corporate image value. It was my job to develop strategies to improve organizational image to families and community partners. Part of this process was the delivery of family surveys for the creation of strategies based on the outcomes of this procedure. I was responsible for establishing and maintaining motivation in the team in order to apply these strategies and to support staff to understand their power to generate change through their daily job.
December 2007 to May 2013
Health Planning Council of SWFL
Family Resource Specialist for the Early Steps Program
With more than 6 years of experience as a Part-time and Full-time Family Resource Specialist, I was the connecting force between parents and professionals serving families of children with special needs. During this period I worked as a community leader for parents and as an educator for staff and community partners in SWFL. I was in charge of the creation of the yearly Plan of Action that included strategies, development and final reporting to the State Parent Consultant.
During these years I delivered presentations at more than 30 conferences, in English and Spanish, to parents, professionals and community leaders. My message was focused on the importance of parental involvement for the development of ideal individual family plans and the critical team approach when serving children with special needs of any age.
April 2007 to April 2009
Healthy Start of SWFL
Community Outreach Specialist
This was a 2-year contract position to represent the program at community outreach events, to develop community relationships in the area, and to identify opportunities for increased exposure in local media.
I participated in the organization and delivery of Community Baby Showers for all the counties in SWFL. Part of my work was to offer workshops and educational presentations to Spanish Speaking families in the 4 counties.
Professional Summary
- Award-winning Marketing & PR Professional with more than 15 years of experience in the field.
- 5 Years of Expertise in Early Intervention, Community Relations and Project development for nonprofit organizations.
- Highly recognized community leader and spokesperson.
- Parent, advocate, and educator.
- Social Media Guru
- Bilingual content developer
- Nationally and Internationally recognized Latina Blogger and Inclusion Advocate
Skills Highlights
- Public Speaker
- Project Development
- Leadership / Communication Skills
- Bilingual / Multicultural
- Self-motivated
- Customer oriented
- Social Media Expert
Accomplishments
- 2017 Top 10 Women of Courage and Commitment in SWFL Hodges University
- 2016 Top 7 Latino Storytellers with a Cause by YOUTUBE
- 2016 Top 8 Latino Bloggers for a Cause by NBC News
- 2015 Best Latino Advocate Through the Use of Technology by Latism in An Initiative of the White House
- 2014 Most Inspirational Latina Blogger
- 2014 NPR Mom Bloggers Making a Difference Raising Children with Down Syndrome
- 2013 Best Latino Health Blogger by Latinos in Social Media
- 2013 United Nations Latino Leader Invitation
- 2013 Latina Influencer by Babble
- 2012 Latina Leader-Speech at the Top Latinas Retreat at the White House
- 2012 Top 100 Mom bloggers by Babble/ Disney
- 2012 7 Most Inspirational Latina Mothers by Café Moms.
- 2012 Inspirational Latina Mom by Latinos in Social Media
- Top 20 Most Influential Latinas in the USA by Voxxi
- Empowering Latinas in the Marketing Field by Pacco PR
- Inclusion Conference 2012 in partnership with Child Care of Collier County
- Key Note Speaker at National Spina Bifida Foundation at San Diego, CA
- Speaker for Angelman National Conference Orlando, FL
- Speaker / Sponsored by J&J Living with Special Needs in New York Latism
- Speaker Family Café 2009/10/11/12 Dreaming New Dreams.
Speaking Highlights
- Pacific Rim Conference – The Power of Technology to Support Inclusion and Diversity (Hawaii, 2017)
- The Power of Technology to Engage Families in the Era of Social Media (Digital Department of Education Symposium, 2017)
- Department of Education Parent Centers Region 2 and 3 – How to Use Technology to Engage Families and Amplify your Message (Texas, 2017)
- Leadership Department of Education National Conference – Free and Low-Cost Technology to Engage Families in the Era of Social Media (Washington DC, 2017)
Professional Highlights
- Well-known community leader representing the voice of parents of children with special needs.
- Voice of Parents of Children with Special Needs to be trusted by national media outlets including NPR, Univision Hispanic Channel & CNN.
- Social Media Entrepreneur at ww.elianatardio.com, currently.
- Babble/Disney Parenting Writer/Blogger, currently
- Early Steps of SWFL PR & Marketing / Family Resource Specialist for more than 5 years.
- Community Outreach Specialist at Healthy Start of SWFL
Education
- BS in Communications
- Currently – Master of Legal Studies
Hodges University of SWFL
- Supporting Stressed Young Children Through Relationship-Based Teaching University Of Minnesota
- Video Observation and Analysis of Children Development
University of Minnesota
- Marketing & PR Management
EDAE Graduate School 2004