Tondalayo Royster
Tondalayo Royster served the majority of her career in the government sector. She served 16 years at the National Institutes of Health and 9 years with the District of Columbia Government. She built her career in the administrative field landing positions as an Executive Assistant to the higher echelons in the organization and as an Administrative Officer.
Tondalayo is now following her heart and providing help and hope to women experiencing intimate partner violence. Her mission is to empower women to embrace the personal wealth that resides within them and to become confident, respected and productive pillars in their families and communities.
Tondalayo volunteers on the Montgomery County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and is a member of the Education and Outreach Committee. She also serves as Co-chair of the Domestic Violence Awareness Month sub-committee. Tondalayo also spends her time supporting victims of sexual assault and intimate partner violence through volunteering with the Victim Assistance of Sexual Assault Program in Montgomery County.
Tondalayo began following her passion early on when mentoring women at Community Family Life Services (CFLS), a nonprofit organization in Washington, DC that helps women and families affected by incarceration, domestic violence and homelessness with the tools and resources to move beyond their trauma and into self-sufficiency. For four years, Tondalayo mentored, held several STRUT and SOAR workshops, facilitated chat sessions, offered life coaching and much encouragement to awaken self-awareness, self-love and self-sufficiency within the women. She recognized the leaders who sat before her while in the midst of their trauma and partnered with them to step into their confidence and become the Chief Executive Officer of their lives.
Tondalayo has received her certification as an emotional intelligence practitioner and has received advocacy training through the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MCASA), Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse (JCADA) and the Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence (MNADV) to support victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. She will continue to support the healing of survivors through compassion, education, legislation and empowering women to thrive.
Tondalayo is a graduate of the Montgomery County Police Citizens Academy and a member of the Montgomery County Citizens Academy Alumni Association. She also is a graduate of Leadership Montgomery and a member of JCADA, MNADV and MCASA.