Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Toni Scott. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Toni, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Excerpt from my Memoir *Grow Your Own Way* (July 2025)

California Love:

I was deeply rooted in nursing and community wellness work across Chicago between 2014 and 2018. Leaders began to take notice, and my name became spoken in rooms I wasn’t always in. My reputation as a wellness nurse consultant and sought-after speaker in yoga, mindfulness and wellness grew. I created presentations and events, including “Revive, Renew, Rejuvenate for Nursing Wellness” and “The Five-Minute Yoga Break.” I’d present to nursing students, professionals and leadership throughout organizations across the state of Illinois. I was appointed Chair of The American Nurses Association’s first grand challenge, “Healthy Nurse, Healthy Nation,” focusing on nurses’ sleep, rest, activity, and nutrition.
At the time, I held a mid-level role in a college nursing department. It felt like a dead end—the environment, work, and lack of inspiration left me yearning for something more. Though I had cultivated several personal and professional connections, I started to long for more. I wanted to explore the therapeutic benefits of cannabis, and, at the time, CA was leading the way. I began planting the seeds.
I’m not one to make hasty decisions, so it took just over a year for me to accept a job in Northern California as the Director of Health Services for a private day and boarding school. It aligned with my professional and business goals: return to working with youth and immerse myself in all things cannabis and cannabis education. I’d begun exploring and researching more and more about the cannabis plant and its role in the wellness space; I wanted to learn more and work on policy, equity, and community issues. I was confident that CA would be advanced in cannabis as well as therapeutic wellness, and I wanted to learn all about both. This move would allow me to do just that.
I had always dreamt of living in California as a travel nurse and had a clear vision for my move. Leaving travel nursing behind and staying in Chicago for many years was unplanned and unexpected. Even though things didn’t unfold as I had once imagined, they still developed meaningfully. After earning my master’s in nursing, I was eager to put my Executive Leadership skills to use. At that time, I thought securing a nursing leadership role was essential for achieving that goal. I had been enjoying a vibrant single life in Chicago, dating without any intent for commitment, all while working on healing from my past trauma. I was ready for a change, but its specifics remained unclear.
The new role located in Marin, the northern hills of California, came with relocation assistance and housing, so I packed up my clothing, personal items, and some keepsakes and bought a one-way ticket. I was still grieving but allowed myself to believe I was well.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I’m the founder of Toni Wellness, a public health nurse, author, and wellness strategist. My work is grounded in lived experience and expressed through embodied wellness practices.

I came into this work through my own life. That required me to pause, pay attention, and build a real relationship with how I care for myself. That process shaped how I move, how I lead, and how I support others.

Toni Wellness is a wellness design and strategy practice rooted in embodied experiences and public health. I work with organizations, healthcare spaces, and communities to design and lead wellness experiences and strategies that support how people function, lead, and sustain themselves in their roles.

I also lead embodied wellness experiences that bring this work to life. These are spaces where people can reset, reflect, and reconnect with themselves, while learning practices they can actually use and return to in their daily lives.

My work centers on the nervous system. I guide people in recognizing what’s happening in their body and responding with practices they can feel in real time. Breath, movement, reflection, and simple rituals that support regulation and balance.

Everything I offer is individualized. I’m not teaching a one-way approach to wellness. I support people in building practices that fit their needs so they can create a life of balanced wellness that is sustainable and real for them.

What matters most to me is that people walk away with something they can use. Something they can return to. Something that supports how they care for themselves in a consistent way.

That’s the heart of my work.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Resilience for me emerged during a demanding period where I carried a heavy load while still showing up. Working in neonatal and pediatric care meant constant exposure to both life and loss. The experiences were impactful, lingering even after shifts ended, as I supported families through unimaginable situations while simultaneously trying to maintain my own composure.

Simultaneously, I navigated challenging personal and professional circumstances. There were moments of feeling unsafe, instances of remaining silent when I should have spoken, and periods where I pushed forward out of obligation.

For me, resilience meant continuing to show up, but also recognizing when I could no longer continue in the same way. One night, everything culminated. I finally voiced my burden to someone I trusted, and that moment brought a shift. I decided to step away, not out of weakness, but from a place of newfound awareness.

That was resilience for me. Not just enduring, but choosing myself. Choosing to step out of an environment that was no longer supporting my health and beginning the process of rebuilding in a way that was more honest and sustainable.

That decision is what led me into the work I do now.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

Yes, I would.

This profession has allowed me to travel, to work in different environments, and to connect with people across cultures and backgrounds. That exposure has expanded my thinking, my compassion, and how I understand people.

It also pushed me to keep growing. I’ve continued my education and developed in ways that go beyond the role itself.

All of that carries into the work I do now as a public health nurse and wellness strategist. Through Toni Wellness, I bring those experiences into how I design and lead my work.

So yes, I would choose it again.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://toni-toniwellnessofficial.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/toni_wellness_lifestyle/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yogatones
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonitonitonii
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Toni..
• Other: https://substack.com/@tonigrowyourownwaycollective

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