Dr. Lonsway earned her Ph.D. in the Department of Psychology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  She then served for two years as a post-doctoral research fellow at the interdisciplinary American Bar Foundation in Chicago, Illinois.  Her research focused on sexual violence and the criminal justice and community response system, and she volunteered for over 15 years as a victim advocate for rape crisis centers in two different communities.  In 2012, she was awarded the first-ever Volunteer of the Decade Award from the Sexual Assault Recovery and Prevention (SARP) Center in San Luis Obispo, California (now known as RISE). The award was specifically created to recognize Dr. Lonsway’s ten years of service and dedication to this local rape crisis center.

In 1998, Dr. Lonsway moved to California where she served as the Director of Research for the National Center for Women & Policing, taught as an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychology at California Polytechnic State University, and assisted Chief Penny Harrington & Associates as the Director of Research and Training.

In 2003, she joined the non-profit End Violence Against Women International (EVAWI), America’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving criminal justice responses to sexual assault.  She was a founding member of the Board of Directors, but in 2004  become one of the organization’s first staff members.  Dr. Lonsway serves as the Director of Research for EVAWI, where she writes grant proposals, conducts original research, develops resource materials, and provides training and technical assistance for professionals in law enforcement, victim advocacy, health care, prosecution, and related disciplines.  To date, EVAWI has been awarded more than $8.9 million in public and private grant funding to advance its critical mission of enhancing victim well-being, offender accountability, and community safety.

In 2011, Dr. Lonsway helped EVAWI to launch Start by Believing, the global campaign designed to transform the way society responds to victims of sexual violence. Hundreds of campaigns  have now taken hold in communities, states, and countries around the world.

A prolific writer, Dr. Lonsway co-authored a book with Penny Harrington entitled:  Investigating Sexual Harassment in Law Enforcement and Nontraditional Fields for Women (Prentice Hall).  She has also written over 60 published articles, reports, and commissioned documents – in addition to numerous training modules, bulletins, and other technical assistance resources.  Along with Sgt. Joanne Archambault (Retired, San Diego Police Department), she served for five years as Co-Editor of Sexual Assault Report, a bimonthly publication of the Civic Research Institute.

Over her career, Dr. Lonsway trained thousands of professionals across the country and around the world, testified as an expert witness in both criminal and civil court cases, and responded to countless inquiries from survivors, practitioners, researchers, educators, policymakers, and the media on topics associated with sexual assault victimization and the criminal justice and community response systems.  She is committed to assisting individuals, improving systems, and changing the culture to better respond to sexual violence.