La Toya Hankins is a native of North Carolina having grown up in the coastal community of Southport. She is a graduate of East Carolina University with a degree in journalism and a minor of political science. While pursuing her degree, she worked for the student's newspaper and literary magazine and became a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Lambda Mu chapter. She is currently serving in a leadership role in her sorority's Chapel Hill, NC graduate chapter. After graduating, she worked in the field of journalism before entering the work of banking. Currently employed with state government, she calls the City of Oaks home. Hankins currently serves as the chair of Shades of Pride, organizers of the annual Triangle Black Pride. She counts as her literary influences Zora Neale Hurston, Walter Mosley, and Pearl Cleage.