Toni grew up in Rhode Island with her proud Italian American heritage playing a part in many facets of her life. Maintaining strong family ties, this only child has been cultivating her imagination since age 7 entertaining her family recording a fictional talk show voicing ALL seven characters. Thus, her acting career comprises 25+ years of credits in theater, studio and independent films, television, commercials, industrials and voiceovers.
This SAG/AFTRA actress has been seen commercially as the face of iShares and the US Army and has been heard as the voice of Fidelity, Crestor, Humira, Walmart, Ford, Comedy Central, Cumberland Farms and Publix Market, to name a few. Theatrical credits include TV shows Law & Order SVU, The Blacklist, The Mysteries of Laura, Taxi Brooklyn, Blue Bloods, The Following and Nurse Jackie and the feature films Nasty Baby with Kristen Wiig, Alto with Diana DeGarmo and Annabella Sciorra, Where God Left His Shoes with John Leguizamo, Riding In Cars With Boys with Drew Barrymore and Faraway Eyes with Christina Ricci, among others.
A passion for all things creative and a career in front of and behind the camera that spans over 25 years, Toni has worked as a Producer, Writer, Director, Script Supervisor, 1st AD, 2nd AD, HMU, Production Supervisor, Production Coordinator, Casting Director, Location Scout, Script Supervisor and Production Consultant as well as an Actor. She has extensive knowledge about the film and television business and is full of a variety of assets that make her "get it done" mentality unstoppable.
She began Shake The Tree Productions in the hopes of creating character-driven projects with original stories full of ethnic diversity with non-gender specific hiring of cast and crew at equal pay. She hopes to keep the true meaning of independent film alive by adapting to today’s market trends utilizing all new media and its cutting-edge technology while staying true to the company’s motto…Dedicated to the art of storytelling. The company’s content is diverse and multi-award winning and Toni works hands-on collaboratively with her writers, directors, filmmakers, content creators and editors from development to completion to ensure the highest quality results for the success of all projects. From the business side of contract negotiations and drafting deal memos to the creative side of pitch deck marketing materials, sizzles and trailers, she is an integral part of all the content that comes out of Shake The Tree.
Toni continues to strive to give back by volunteering. She was a first responder after Hurricane Sandy in the Breezy Point communities; she worked tirelessly in conjunction with The Roxbury Volunteer Fire Dept. to help the community in its recovery efforts. She sponsors and supports the Alzheimer’s Association, Semillas de Amour, and SOSA and volunteers when she can.
A proud member of NY Women in Film and Television, she has an immense respect for the collaborative process that drives her to continue discovering, learning and educating through artistic expression.