About Tonya Rivens

Tonya Rivens

"Tonya has a BA in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill..."

Louis A. Trosch, Jr.
Superior Court Judge at NC Administrative Office of the Courts
I have known Ms. Rivens for many years, both through her work with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) and as a reporter and On-Air Personality with both WCCB and WBTV. Not only is she incredibly thorough, professional and efficient, but she is a joy to work with. She has a unique ability to relate with people from all walks of life and to help them be their best selves. For example, I once appeared on a news program to discuss some potentially controversial topics related to our court system and was extremely nervous. Looking around at the other panel members to be featured on the air, I quickly realized that I wasn't alone. Tonya, who was the on-air reporter for the segment, immediately put all of us at ease, explained exactly what to expect, and helped us prepare quickly and efficiently. After just a few minutes with her, we became a well oiled machine. In her capable hands, we presented our topic in an informative and entertaining manner.
Every time I have had the pleasure of working alongside Ms. Rivens, my experience has been similar. These experiences have included projects with the MCSO and a court initiative called Race Matters for Juvenile Justice that Ms. Rivens joined as an important partner. She is tireless and passionate about her work. Whenever I know that Tonya will be involved in a project, I am confident that it will be done well. I am honored to highly recommend her.

Tonya Rivens is an award winning Journalist with more than 25 years in Radio, ten years in television and is a feature writer for a monthly publication. She has a BA in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with her family. Tonya and her husband, Douglas Rasheed, own a small business, the Rivens Business Center, which operates as TRivens, LLC, and houses her non-profit 501c3, The Ausie & Martin Rivens Scholarship Foundation, formerly the Ausie Rivens Community Center/ Scholarship Foundation. ARSF was founded in 2004 in honor of Tonya’s grandfather, the first black barber in Cornelius, and has provided scholarships for area youth to pursue a career in Barber Styling. The non-profit, changed to AMRS in 2019, also sponsors youth camps, trips and a successful, annual outdoor gospel celebration known as ‘Praise in the Park’ and known as the 'Queen City Gospelfest'.

'After a lengthy career in Airline Management Tonya developed a passion for all things radio. During her 17-years in the industry, Rivens has worn the titles of Program Director, Music Director and Community Affairs Director. Her current show, Sounds of Inspiration With Tonya Rivens, is featured on Streetz 103.3, Sundays, and the weekday Traffic Reporter. Her radio career also includes stints at WPEG (Power 98 FM), WBAV (V101.9) and WPZS (100.9).
Early in the year of 2011, Rivens decided to branch out in the pursuit of radio syndication with the creation of ‘Gospel Insight with Tonya Rivens.’ Less than a year later the show was featured on WBTV News on BOUNCE TV, weekdays at 8pm. Tonya worked as a Television personality, Traffic Reporter, on WBTV, from 2011 until 2017 then joined WCCB TV, Charlotte's CW, News Rising until 2018. In December 2018, Tonya accepted the Public Information Manager job for the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office. Currently, you can hear Tonya on Streetz 103.3/100.5 as the host of 'Sounds of Inspiration' and she serves as the Community Affairs Director. She also writes for 'Cornelius Today', a daily online and monthly news publication, hosts 'Canceling COVID' and does freelance reporting for local television. Rivens is a former member of the Board of Directors for Our Towns Habitat for Humanity, the Stratford Richardson YMCA and is a graduate from the FBI Citizens Academy. Committed to her community, the multi-media journalist serves as a member on the Charlotte Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee, Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful, International Minority Coalition, Charlotte Mecklenburg NAACP, Women in Radio, Charlotte Mecklenburg NAACP and others. She has won community service awards from Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Chief Putney, Business Today for 2017 Top Female Business Owner, Urban League of the Central Carolinas, Charlotte Mecklenburg NAACP President's Award, Carolina Film Festival, MLK's Growing the Dream, Gospel Impact and more.