Toni Newman is the Interim Director of Employment Services for the San Francisco LGBT Center and a Consultant for the Transgender Strategy Center based in Los Angeles. Toni is a 1985 graduate of Wake Forest University and current candidate for her Juris of Doctorate (JD). Toni was the Executive Director for St. James Infirmary and the Development Director for Maitri Compassionate Care, and previously served as the Interim Director of Development & Communications at the To Help Everyone Health and Wellness Center in Los Angeles and as a Strategic Fundraiser, Volunteer Recruiter, and Legislative Aide for Equality California. Toni worked with EQCA to raise money to win marriage for the LGBTQ community in California.
Additionally, Toni is a best selling author, noted for her memoir I Rise -The Transformation of Toni Newman released in 2011. Her memoir was based off the poem I Rise by Wake Forest University Reynolds Professor Dr. Maya Angelou who Toni interviewed with in 2012. The memoir has been featured in Ebony and Advocate magazines, and nominated for the prestigious Lambda Literary award. Most recently the memoir has been produced into a short film titled Heart of a Woman by Alton Demore and Keith Holland being featured at several film festivals in the USA and Germany.