[7] Toner was raised in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, graduating from the Salesianum School in nearby Wilmington, Delaware in 1982.

Toner received a graduate degree from the National Defense University’s Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

[9] As a career Foreign Service Officer, Toner served overseas in West Africa and Europe.

In Washington, Toner worked as a senior advisor for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; as a Senior Watch Officer in the Department's Operations Center; and as the Director of the European Bureau’s Press and Public Outreach Division.

[13] On March 27, 2023, President Joe Biden nominated Toner to be the next ambassador to Liberia.