Sydney Lofton serves as the Senior Program Specialist, Audit Oversight, for the National Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Center. She is a highly experienced professional, with over 20 years of expertise in the fields of juvenile service and criminal justice. Over the course of her career, she has specialized in people and organizational performance engineering, program evaluation; and continuous quality improvement in auditing.
One of Sydney’s notable accomplishments is her ability to bring about positive changes in confinement conditions specifically related to the Civil Rights for Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA). She has played a crucial role in enhancing safety and security (to include sexual safety) in confined settings in multiple states—successfully eliminating the ongoing need for Department of Justice (DOJ) oversight.
In Maryland specifically, Sydney co-led the establishment of the Quality Assurance and Accountability Department — a mandatory requirement of the Memorandum of Agreement between the DOJ and Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services, which aimed to address violations of CRIPA. Within this role, Sydney contributed to the development, training, and implementation of Quality Assurance Standards. She also provided supervision to the Quality Review Auditors; and assisted in the overall oversight for the implementation of CRIPA measures.
Sydney’s professional experience includes being a Grant Peer Reviewer for non profit and federal agencies. Additionally, Sydney holds a dual certification from DOJ as a Certified PREA Auditor for juvenile and adult facilities.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminology from Florida State University, a Master of Science in Management with a justice administration concentration from Saint Thomas University, and a graduate specialization in Applied Behavior Analysis from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.