About Toni Inglis

Portrait by Ben Sargent, Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist

Toni Inglis, MSN, RN CNS (retired), FAAN, holds three degrees from from The University of Texas at Austin — a Bachelor of Arts (in Spanish and French), a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Science in Nursing. She was one of 10 graduate students selected to study Policy Development under the late Congresswoman Barbara Jordan at the LBJ School of Public Affairs in Austin.

Now retired from the Seton Healthcare Family, she practiced neonatal intensive care nursing for more than three decades. She also wrote/edited the monthly publication NursingNews for Seton for 20 years and a blog for six years.

Known for her ability to explain complex health issues and policy in easily understood terms, she wrote a monthly opinion column for the Austin American-Statesman editorial page for 10 years. Her columns have appeared in many newspapers and concern concern health policy, health care, nursing, humor and politics. In addition, she has sole-authored 15 scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals of nursing, law and medicine.

Two magazines have described how Inglis began writing newspaper commentary: The Good Life and Austin Monthly.

Toni’s preferred mode of transportation: her Yamaha Vino

A passionate advocate for public health and mental health, Inglis has served on numerous commissions and boards including as member and chair of the Board of Trustees of Austin Travis County Integral Care, formerly Austin Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation, for 12 years.

In 1992, she was selected as the UT-Austin School of Nursing Outstanding Graduating Graduate Student and in 1995 as the school’s Outstanding Alumna of the Year. In 2000, she was named one of the Texas Nurses Association-District 5 Fabulous 5. In 2009, Inglis received the Austin Business Journal’s “Healthcare Hero” award. In 2011, she was inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing in Washington, DC. She was awarded the Austin High School Hall of Honor Distinguished Alumna for 2020.

Inglis, a lifelong Austin resident, lives downtown with her husband Ian Inglis, a retired criminal defense attorney. They have three grown children — Burton Knight, Erin Bryndis and John Inglis — and three grandchildren. They also have the world’s cutest dog: Walter, a miniature schnauzer.