Tonya E. Carroll, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, was born and raised in Cherokee, North Carolina. She studied American History and Cherokee Studies at Western Carolina University where she earned her master’s degree in Public History. In 2011, she graduated from the Right Path Adult Leadership Program. Tonya serves as the Department Manager for the Ray Kinsland Leadership Institute where she works to create a generation of life-long selfless leaders deeply rooted in Cherokee history and culture. In 2019, she was one of 21 cyclists that completed the 950-mile bike ride from New Echota, Georgia to Tahlequah, Oklahoma to remember the forced removal of Cherokees in 1838-39. In her spare time, she serves on the planning committee for the Kananesgi Art Market and Fashion Show, the Sequoyah Fund Board of Directors, and the Cherokee Boys Club Scholarship Committee. She resides in the Birdtown Community on the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, North Carolina with Bear Allison and their dog, Jester.