Tonya Combs was born and raised in Allenpark, Michigan and moved to North Carolina after graduating high school. Tonya lives in Sanford with her 12 year old son, Joshua, who is the apple of her eye. She is proud that Joshua shares her compassion and empathy and is thankful he is in her life.
Tonya has been working at Stalls Medical Inc. at Cary for over 15 years. Her company provides complex rehabilitation equipment, such as custom manual and power wheelchairs, to physically disabled individuals. She stands for and believes in her company’s mission to help the physically disabled community be as independent and active as possible. Tonya aspires to become a licensed social worker and is currently doing her bachelor’s degree in social work at NC State. Upon completion, her goal is to pursue her Master’s degree in the subject as well.
Tonya loves spending time to catch up with her family and friends. She enjoys being outdoors whenever possible and she loves to hike with her son. Other pastimes include watching baseball games in the summer, visiting the zoo and museums. She finds relaxation in reading and practicing yoga.
Tonya’s friends describe her as caring, compassionate, a good listener, motivated, and goal oriented. Tonya is passionate about empowering women. Her experience volunteering in a shelter for domestic violence and sexual assault victims opened her eyes to the courage and resilience in women and she wanted to encourage and support them in realizing their life’s goals. Her path crossed with InStepp when she joined an InStepp volunteer training program as an adult mentor in 2015. She volunteered for the New Choices program and provided friendship and support to women transitioning out of less than desirable situations. In March 2016, Tonya became a member of the InStepp Board of Directors. Her joy in volunteering for InStepp is in working with clients and seeing them discover their true potential. It is an exciting moment when one of the clients reach their goals such as getting a job or transportation or overcoming an obstacle. In Tonya’s words, “You find that their happiness becomes your happiness. You can’t help but to get just as excited as they are! Seeing women succeed is such a gratifying feeling.”
In addition to her services at InStepp, Tonya volunteers for HopeLine, a crisis line in Raleigh and as a counselor for TeenCentral.net. In the past, Tonya has volunteered for Healing Transitions in Raleigh and for HAVEN in Lee county.