Toni Carter
Metropolitan Council Member, District 14
Serving as a county commissioner in Ramsey County, Minnesota for over 18 years, Toni Carter (Willetha) has recently retired from elected service. Prior to election to the Ramsey County Board she served as chair of the Saint Paul Board of Education. She is well known for her leadership in local, regional, state and national initiatives for government excellence, particularly for her advocacy and leadership for equity transformations across all county services and investments for children, families and communities.
Chair of the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners in 2020 and 2021, Toni led the county’s COVID-19 Pandemic response and recovery efforts, partnering with community to make critical and historic investments in health prevention/intervention and essential services, shelter/housing, workforce solutions – and violence prevention, following the senseless killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis.
As Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) Stakeholder Committee co-chair (2006-2022) Toni worked diligently with community, the county board, and staff to initiate and support Ramsey County’s JDAI, which has resulted in dramatic reductions in youth detention, closure of a 100 year old youth out-of-home placement center, and ongoing work to transform the justice and public safety system –and all county services and investments – through the lens of equity for all.
On the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority and the Metropolitan Council Central Corridor Management Committee, Toni partnered with community and arts advocates to ensure that the Green Line LRT (Light Rail Transit) line included the “missing” 3 stations as well as community-inspired art when it opened in 2014.
Toni led the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) as its president in 2014, and served as co-chair of the Governor’s Commission on Child Welfare (2014) and the MN Human Services Performance Council (2009-2019). National leadership roles have included chair of the National Association of Counties (NACO) Human Services and Education Policy Committee and the Healthy Counties Initiative, Minnesota delegate on the NACO Board of Directors, Vice-Chair of the National Association of Black County Officials (NABCO), and membership on the board of the National Organization of Black County Officials (NOBCO).
Married to Save Our Sons (SOS) founder/Diesel Heart author Melvin W. Carter Jr., mother to Anika, Melvin III and Alanna, and grandmother to twelve (ages 2-28), Toni enjoys her time with family, and in the arts and nature.
Toni passionately engages with government, community and business partners in work toward a shared vision of vibrant community where all are valued and thrive.