Tonya Dalhaus is an experienced leader, manager, speaker, facilitator, and coach. A former stand-up comedian, Tonya’s work in Boston as Program Manager for a homeless shelter, serving over 150 families, has made her well acquainted with managing conflict and communication with a little humor. She now taps into those experiences when teaching public speaking, facilitation, and training to graduate students at the University of Denver. Her past non-profit leadership roles include President of the Boston Junior Chamber, President of the University of Denver-University College Alumni Association, and Vice President of Education for the Jepp-N-Toast, Toastmaster’s Club. Additionally, she served on the board of the Longmont Community Justice Partnership with whom she received the Above and Beyond Award. As a volunteer mediator with Jefferson County Mediation, she was awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award, and the 100 Club award for mediating over 100 cases. Currently she serves on the board of the Pensacola Women’s Alliance as the Communication Trustee. Tonya joined Emerald Coast Writers as a critique group member to work on her book: Raising Chickensaurus, a humorous handbook on how to, and how not to raise chickens. She immediately fell in love with the people and the organization for which she has a great passion. Soon after, she joined the event committee and conceived Every Picture Tells a Story—a collaboration with the Wide Angle Photography Club with which she is also a member. She currently steers the helm of the Books By The Bay festival as the Event Manager. Her passion for creating digital photography, mixed media, and social media content lead to the forming of HenHaus Media, geared at helping authors navigate social media. In 2023, her photos of @botlthemodelchicken won first and third place at the Pensacola State Fair. You can find some of her work in this year’s Emerald Coast Review. To relax, Tonya enjoys swinging on a hammock with a lap full of chickens. She and her husband Don have a small chicken farm with some very friendly chickens and king quail.