Toland was born in 1952 in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania and earned a BFA from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York (1975) and an MFA from Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana (1983). She has received numerous awards, including the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Fellowship (2005).  Her work is closely connected to architecture, responding to urban sprawl and rapid growth in cities-issues that are indicative of community dynamics as an expression of larger systems or networks.  Toland says "My work has always been closely connected to architecture. But structure goes beyond buildings and cities. It lies at the heart of all activity, and speaks about patterns and hierarchies within societies. Structures that may seem unique within a culture are often seen elsewhere with slight variations; the teepee circle in Wyoming and an ancient Celtic circle in England. The cultural similarities and differences that unite us as a people provide a link to our history and continue to inform and inspire my work."(Toland)

Her art is in permanent collections at the Holter Museum of Art, Helena, Montana; the Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, Montana; the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, Great Falls, Montana; and private collections across the country. 

She has been featured in such exhibitions as the Lorinda Knight Gallery, Spokane, WA with Richard Notkin in 2008; the Printmaking Invitational, Turman Gallery, Helena, MT in 2006; and various exhibitions over the years throughout Montana, with several features in Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, California and Arizona. Toland has received awards such as the Artist's Innovation Award from the National Endowment for the Arts in 2009; the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation Grant in 2005; the Meadowlark Foundation Education Grant in 2001; and the Purchase Award, Equinox at the Paris Gibson Square Museum, Great Falls, MT in 1999.