Toni Carter
Toni L. Coleman Carter is the energetic chief inclusion and collaborator officer who strategically drives an inclusive future for Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls, Idaho. She's a change champion who collaborates with laboratory and community leaders to create environments that empower and engage others to achieve a competitive advantage, further leveraging talent platforms to enhance employee capabilities, build next generation leaders and drive bottom-line results. She also partners as a consultant to create, develop and oversee inclusion and diversity initiatives, while increasing inclusion awareness and providing governance for INL’s inclusion leadership councils.
Carter has nine years of governmental experience, which includes her time as the deputy mayor for the village of Hanover Park, Illinois. Prior to joining INL, she spent 23 years in corporate America working for Motorola Solutions, an $8 billion technology organization, in Chicago. Carter also spent time in the pharmaceutical and food service industries.
In April of 2007, Carter was elected as Hanover Park’s first black council member. The position allowed her to assist with the recruitment, selection and appointment of department heads and to help create policy operation strategies. During this time, Carter founded the village’s Cultural Inclusion and Diversity Committee, the largest volunteer committee in the village. After two years of confronting challenging opportunities, she became the village’s first Black deputy mayor.
As deputy mayor, Carter created a homeless prevention task force that focused on reducing the impact of the 2008-2010 economic crisis, preventing home foreclosures and providing transitional housing for residents. In 2008, she was appointed to Hanover Park’s Crime Prevention Task Force, a team that helped design crime prevention strategies and methodologies for the village. The same year, Hanover Park named her Inclusion and Diversity Champion, and she received an Outstanding Leadership Award from Motorola’s Women’s Business Council.
Carter has earned numerous awards for her humanitarian efforts. In 2020, she received INL’s Community Award. In 2019, she earned Idaho’s Hometown Hero Award Medal and was one of Idaho Business Review’s Women of the Year. In 2018, she was recognized as one of DiversityMBA’s Top 100 Executive Leaders Under 50. In 2015, the National Diversity Council honored Carter with the Leadership Excellence Award for corporate inclusion, and she was named Inclusion and Diversity Champion of the Year by Diversity MBA. In 2013, the Illinois Commission on Diversity and Human Relations honored Carter with the Dr. King Workforce Inclusiveness and Community Activism award. The 2010 issue of Who’s Who in Black Chicago named her one of the most influential Black leaders in government. She is a member of the National Society for Human Resource Management and the Delta Mu Delta International Honor Society in Business. She is a certified diversity practitioner and professional development coach. She is pursuing certifications as a change management and organizational development professional. She earned bachelor’s and a master’s degrees from Roosevelt University in Chicago.
Carter dedicates part of her life to helping people who have been abused. Her memoir, When Trouble Finds You, is a tool of hope, inspiration and education for others who may have suffered the way she did as a child. When Carter is not spending time with her three wonderful children – Candes, John and Taylor – she loves building community relationships and leveraging strategic partnerships.
