Her desire to help women led her to start Life By Design, where she provides one-on-one coaching, group coaching and offers classes on the principle of prosperity through a strong healthy foundation of self. Her passion is helping women find self-empowerment in order to make their goals a reality. "When we understand ourselves, take care of ourselves, and are aware of our own behaviors, then we can start creating the life that we want." Tonya tells her clients.
Coach Tonya's passion to empower others is echoed in the roles she has taken on in the virtual community. She is a team leader for Digital Moms, providing training and support to team members as they work together to prosper by working from home. As a writer and speaker, she uses her talents to help women find the help they need to change their lives. "Knowledge is empowerment, to learn something that you did not know before is growth. Together they are powerful keys to changing your life."
As well as being an ongoing student of LOA, Tonya is a full time student at the University of Wisconsin, where she is completing her Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Women's Studies. Recently, she was the second Women's Studies student to be awarded an undergraduate research grant in University of Wisconsin-Whitewater history. Tonya will be conducting a six month research project of home-based women business owners, an under represented group in all research done to date on women in work. Her findings will be presented on the UW-Whitewater campus, as well at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in April 2008 held at Salisbury University in Salisbury, Maryland.
She is a work at home mother to her 2-year-old son, which is a tremendous source of encouragement for her, "I look at my son, and I see all the possibilities that this world has to offer. As I look through his eyes I see that my life can be without limits, without obstacles, just the 'can do' attitude and a belief in myself, like I see in him each and every day. He teaches me as much as I teach him, if not more."
Tonya also relishes her relationship with her husband. Best friends since high school, their relationship evolved to the next level as they joined their lives together in 2004. "We wrote our own vows, one of the vows that he said was 'I vow to respect your independence, to give you the space you need to continue to grow as a person.' I am so grateful that I found someone that supports and encourages me as he does. He has taught me the importance of making time for what is important. He is my biggest cheerleader, my best friend, and the one that reminds me of my strength when I have misplaced it."
In her own life, she has been able to bring success and balance into her life, which she credits to maintaining a healthy sense of self. "Not only have I found a revitalization to my passion, I been freed of old thought patterns and behaviors that have been an obstacle to my success. I want to teach others how they can be free from what they have been taught, how to leave behind the thoughts that hinder them, and how to have everything they want in their lives."
