Tonya played volleyball, basketball, track and field, and select softball from 1990-1994. She participated in the Track and Field State Finals all four years of her high school career and in the Softball World’s tournament in Florida. Tonya was awarded multiple honors in both athletics and academics including National Honor Society and team MVP awards. She earned a Division 1 scholarship to the University of Colorado-Boulder, and later became an avid skier more so than winning field competitions.

At CU-Boulder, Tonya studied Kinesiology. She moved to the west coast, San Luis Obispo, then to San Francisco, California. She received a Bachelor of Science, in Psychology, and a minor in Holistic Health. At the University of California in San Francisco, she received a Master's Degree in the Science of Nursing, Psychiatry, and Mental Health (PMHNP). She was voted Nurse of the Year in the Emergency Department at the University of California -San Francisco.

After high school, Tonya competed at the Elite level for Spartan Obstacle Course Racing, completed multiple Century bike races, climbed mountains in Northern Thailand, competed in Cyclocross competitions, and completed numerous half marathons.

Tonya enjoys world travels with her wife, Gina, and her three boys, Henry, Oliver, and William. She works at Saint Louis University Hospital and finds it a privilege to provide compassionate healthcare to the Saint Louis Community. In her free time, Tonya loves to get her hands in the soil and feet in the grass to remember the days spent playing at Greendale playgrounds and Oakey Park. She enjoys small-scale farming, yoga, skiing, fly fishing, running, cycling, and climbing. She especially enjoys doing these activities with her family.