Tonya started Journey With Me LLC to meet the growing demand for appropriate and effective services for children and adults with complex needs in Arizona, including those with coexisting developmental delays, psychiatric conditions and learning disabilities. Tonya takes a person-centered approach from intake to service delivery and implements creative and sustainable solutions. Tonya has extensive training and experience in behavior intervention and mental health crisis management and is a fierce advocate for her own children with special needs. In her spare time, Tonya helps train service dogs for individuals with disabilities.
Advocate
Tonya has more than 20 years experience working with children and adults with varied diagnoses, including ADHD, Anxiety, Autism, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Schizophrenia. Tonya provides skills training, family support and case management under select AHCCCS health plans and accepts single-case agreements (SCAs) from community behavioral health clinics and family-run organizations. Tonya holds Family Support Partner (FSP) and Behavioral Health Technician (BHT) credentials from Recovery Innovations. She also serves as Special Assistance Advocate for an SMI/DDD family member. Tonya has experience helping families navigate Arizona’s developmental disabilities, education, employment, medical and mental health systems. She is passionate about helping families obtain appropriate services and solutions for their loved ones, because everyone deserves to thrive.
Creative
Throughout her career, Tonya has provided product development and management services for target-audience publications from college recruitment guides to international peer-reviewed medical journals. Tonya founded and managed a successful marketing and advertising agency in Silicon Valley that produced creative materials, digital assets and marketing campaigns for radio and television stations, educational institutions, retailers and small businesses from its downtown San Jose, California location. She has conducted sales, marketing and service evaluations for Fortune 1000 companies in auto, financial, hospitality and tech industries and has worked with start-ups and giants on innovative, solution-focused technologies. In 2008 Tonya moved from California to Arizona to focus on meeting her children’s complex medical, educational and psychiatric needs. Tonya continues to provide creative services and has designed marketing materials for Arizona clients including Recovery Innovations, West Yavapai Guidance Clinic and Arizona Baptist Children’s Services.
DDD
Tonya provides home-and-community-based services (HCBS), including Attendant Care and Habilitation, to Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) members with behavioral health needs in Arizona under the federal Medicaid waiver. She holds DDD-required certifications including CPR and First Aid, Article 9 Managing Inappropriate Behaviors and Direct Care Worker (DCW). Tonya provides HCBS services through DDD vendor agencies.
Education
Tonya provides individualized education and life-skills mentorship to students with varied needs through Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program as an Arizona Department of Education (ADE)-approved tutor and ClassWallet vendor. Tonya tailors educational services to individual learning styles, determines reasonable accommodations and strives to help students achieve social, emotional and academic success. Tonya also writes Behavior Intervention Plans (BIP) for students who need additional support and creates accommodation requests to submit to health plans and educational programs. Tonya holds a BA in Communications from Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois, with continuing education in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Positive Behavior Support (PBS). Tonya also holds a Certificate in Spanish from el Institutó de Leñgua Española, an immersion program in San Jose, Costa Rica, Central America.
Writing
Tonya has more than 30 years experience as an investigative journalist, news reporter, features writer and publications editor. She has worked for daily newspapers, weekly guides, monthly medical journals and advertising-driven target-market magazines. While residing in Costa Rica, Central America, Tonya wrote travel features for English-language newspaper Costa Rica Today and worked closely with organizations that protect women and children from exploitation and assist refugees displaced by civil unrest and wars in Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. Tonya writes about advocacy, disability rights, education, mental health, personal finance and other issues that affect families.
