While working with national recording artists as an entertainment lawyer, Tony met David "TC" Ellis and assisted him in the formation of Studio 4 / High School for Recording Arts in St. Paul MN. He co-founded Another Level Records, the first national student-operated record label.
Tony is the Executive Director of the High School for Recording Arts, Founding Director at 4learning.com and Co-Founder / Co-Director of the New School Creation Fellowship and Co-Founder of the Center for Love and Justice both at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education in San Diego.
Tony has served as board member to such leading national school reform organizations as Education Evolving, Reaching At Promise Students Association (RAPSA), Coalition of Independent Charter Schools, Edvisions, Inc. as well as local arts-based advocacy and training organization Minnesota Jazz Education.
His association with RAPSA led to his contribution to the report, "Seizing The Moment: Realizing the Promise of Student-Centered Learning" and to the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools report “Over-Age, Under-Credited Students and Public Charter Schools.” He was also a part of the working group that led to the National Association of Charter School Authorizer report on alternative accountability and has been a member of and provided technical assistance to the Black Alliance for Educational Options.
Tony has keynoted or made major presentations to educators across the United States and internationally in Bangkok, Xian, Vancouver, Montreal, Oxford, and Copenhagen. He is co-author of Hip Hop Genius 2.0 and a contributing author of the upcoming book Designing Schools and Democratic Learning Environments - A Global Perspective along with his 4 Learning partner Michael Lipset and Corresponding Editor Linda Nathan of HGSE and others.
Tony attended Howard University and Pace University where he received his BA in Political Studies and earned a Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University School of Law.