MEET TONYA ALSTON

Tonya Alston a woman of the word, born in Washington DC where she broke the mold in a family of two sons and two daughters bringing up the rear where her mother now had 5 children. Raised in North Carolina, she learned early to kick life and defeat. Pregnant at an early age she became a mother at a young age. Tonya was the first in her family to graduate high school and the first in her family to graduate college. None of her accomplishments came without great pain and hard work.

Having gotten involved in the wrong relationship, Tonya escaped a domestic violence situation, packed-up her car with her daughter and relocated to the Washington DC area where she was born. Working multiple jobs, Tonya managed to support herself and her daughter, obtain an International Masters in Business Administration, a Masters in Theology, starting her own business and is currently a doctoral candidate in Divinity.

In 2009, Tonya kicked life and defeat again after nearly dying. After a near death experience, she had to have cognitive training and learn to walk again!  Tonya defeated the odds and is a walking, living testimony.

After working for the Federal Government for nearly 20 years, 13 directly supporting the Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division and seeing all the injustice happening behind the walls of Justice… Tonya began to look beyond the walls to see how she could make an impact in the community.

Venturing out on her own as the CEO of AMC-Advisors, Tonya spent the next two years developing a company that operated in more than 30 countries on 5 continents in both urban centers and remote villages. The focus areas were to improve adverse conditions impacting communities by improving the quality of life through education, immunization, decreasing the mortality rate between mother and child as well as the clean water initiative for Haiti. The ultimate goal of Tonya’s work is to change lives for the better.

Having been exposed to a dying nation and a hurting world, Tonya’s compassion for others rendered her vision to launch Healing the Living (HTL).  Tonya’s background has provided her with the opportunity to collaborate with government funded organizations such as USAID, UNICEF, Millennial Corporation and CDC where she plans to expand her philanthropic efforts internationally. Currently, Healing the Living has launched a new initiative that is focused on providing resources to Human Trafficking survivors through “My Daughters Closet.”

Tonya’s calling to the people came when she accepted her call to minster the gospel of Jesus Christ in 2005. As a result, she has spent countless hours educating, empowering and equipping individuals to live victorious lives. She has worked directly with Sisters Place a domestic Violence Shelter in Washington DC, SOME – (So Others Might Eat), The Orphanage (Maryland based organization for youth seeking parents), Transitional housing programs, Internationally with The Shelter an organization for women who escaped domestic violence, Food and Friends, Women Giving Back and many others.  She also maintains seats on several boards that impact lives on a daily basis.