Toni Russell

A native of Washington, D.C., Toni Russell grew up with a mother and father who, in addition to their full-time careers, were professional singers. Both stressed the importance of education and entered Russell into Kiddie College at the age of 18 months. In high school, she participated in cheerleading, softball, pom pons, track, and the flag squad. With the assistance of academic scholarships, Russell matriculated at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, earned a B.S. in Computer Science in 1988. While at UMES, she received numerous scholastic honors and awards. In 1998 she earned an M.B.A. from the Johns Hopkins University. She also pursued Post Graduate Studies in Law at the University of Maryland at Baltimore. It was while she was in Law School that she realized that the fire for her passion was smoldering.