Toni Barton

Toni R. Barton currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of E.L. Haynes Public Charter School. A longtime advocate for equity and inclusion, she brings over two decades of experience leading schools and systems to design learning environments where all students thrive. Before joining E.L. Haynes, Toni was a faculty member at Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College and the founder of Spelligent Education, where she supported district and school leaders in developing inclusive instructional systems. Toni previously founded the Inclusive Schools Leadership Institute at Relay Graduate School of Education and served on a national team coaching systems leaders on advancing statewide strategy through the National Collaborative on Inclusive Principal Leadership. She also led equity and student support strategy at Center City Public Charter Schools, where she served as a principal and network leader. In addition to her leadership roles, Toni is a published author whose work focuses on inclusive school leadership and systems transformation. In 2025, she was named a Google GSV Education Innovation Fellow, joining a national cohort of leaders advancing bold ideas in education. Toni holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a Master’s in Education from Trinity Washington University, and a Bachelor of Science from Grambling State University.