Angela Ardolino

Biography

Ardolino grew up in Miami, Florida. Her mother worked for Informed Families, where she taught parenting and self-esteem courses to parents. Ardolino was also certified by Informed Families and taught her first class when she was 18, working with the children while her mother worked with the parents. She graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in Broadcast Television.

Career

In 1996, Ardolino founded the Miami Children's Theater (MCT), a performing arts production company founded to use the performing arts to instruct and inspire young actors and audiences. MCT teaches children ages 3–19 theater, magic, music, video production, the visual arts, creative writing, clowning and juggling. The organization was one of the first children's theaters in the Southeastern United States to stage the school edition of Les Misérables. Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami both issued the theater proclamations, making April 27 "Miami Childrens Theater Day". In 2011, Lauren Nedelman, one of Ardolino's former students, joined the national tour of Fiddler on the Roof.

In 1996, she founded Creative Camps, a performing arts camp for children ages 5 to 12. It is the longest established summer theater camp in South Florida.

In 2006, Ardolino moved to Tampa, Florida and founded Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine, a family resource guide serving the area. As founder of the magazine, she contributes to media segments on radio and television networks including NBC, WTSP-TV CBS, Studio 10, and 10 Connect.

In 2010, Ardolino began as a correspondent on WFTS-TV ABC Action News for Parents in Action, offering tips and news of family activities and events.

Ardolino serves on the executive board of the Arts Council of Hillsborough County, the Glazer Children's Museum, and Voices for Children. She is also a member of Florida Fashionistas and Junior League of Tampa.

In 2014, Ardolino began appearing on WFLA's "8 On Your Side" segment with Stacie Schaible. She currently organizes parenting experts and health and wellness experts to appear on the segment. Shortly after, she began appearing weekly on DayTime, a morning television show that airs in over 150 markets across the U.S.

Ardolino has spoken on panels for LGBTQ Parenting, including participating in a Q&A panel after the production of Birds of a Feather at Stageworks Theatre. She has also been a keynote speaker for Working Women of Tampa Bay, as well as various other networking events.

Ardolino is also the founder and former organizer of two of the biggest Bay Area events. The Back to School Fair, which happens annually in August, features exhibitors, vendors, activities, entertainment, and give-aways to help get children in the Tampa Bay Area ready to go back to school. Summer Splash, which takes place annually in April, is the only event where parents can meet face-to-face with directors from area summer camps.

In 2016, Ardolino noticed a growing need for medical cannabis that is safe enough to treat families and children. She partnered with Avid Growing Systems in launching CannaCure in the US, a company dedicated to cultivating and processing the purest medical cannabis products, with the lowest environmental impact. She also founded Canna Conference, which aims to educate medical professionals on all aspects of medical cannabis so that they feel comfortable when prescribing it.