A loving wife, mother, grandmother, and daughter. A Girl Scout Troop leader, entrepreneur running several small businesses, Director of a non-profit, and one of very few Black, Female Corporate VPs for the world’s largest gaming and hospitality company. These are some of the many roles Tonika plays on a daily basis.
Tonika oftentimes describes her life as a series of lives lived in one. As a teenage parent, she was determined and strengthened by the pessimism and despair of teachers and counselors. Although life got in the way of many of her early dreams, she was determined to succeed and not become a negative stereotype.
Returning to school as a “non-traditional” college student, Tonika obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management in her mid- 30’s; regularly attending up to three different learning institutions at the same time, in an effort to complete her degree. She returned to school a few years later to obtain a Master’s in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and has since earned several Human Resource certifications through eCornell University and the Society for Human Resource Management.
For nearly 20 years, she has worked in Talent Development where she has been able to live within her passion of working with people, helping them to develop individualized growth plans, and watching them achieve their personal and professional goals. In her spare time, she runs a non-profit organization, Las Vegas Tumble Gym Bus, designed to help children learn and practice healthier eating habits and use play as a form of exercise.
Life hasn’t been a walk in the park for Tonika, although you would never hear her complain about it. Instead, she focused on one of her favorite quotes by Toni Morrison…”You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down”. This advice has helped her grow into the life that was designed for her.
