Ericka Toney is a Support Educator, working as part of Common Ground’s Culture Team to build a positive school environment and help our students succeed. 

Ericka first came to Common Ground through an Americorps program, coordinating alumni engagement. When she completed the program, she moved South, but before long, a Common Ground colleague reached out and encouraged her to return. 

When asked for her motivation to continue working at Common Ground, Ericka explains, “I enjoy having a front row seat and encouraging students to recognize and stand in their own power that has existed in them since birth.”

A quote that Ericka lives by is, “Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.” 

Ericka was born and raised in New Haven. She has some summer roots planted in the South though, as she spent every summer there for 10+ years. She loves to fish (really anything outdoors), as well as skating and reading.