Sydney Turner

Sydney Turner is a Master of Social Work student and SP2 Scholar originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Prior to pursuing graduate school, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Communication with a minor in Gender and Women’s Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she also earned a Certificate in Distinguished Undergraduate Research and graduated with high honors. During her time in college, Sydney created a new version of the Campus Safety Notice email for sex crimes, authoring more accessible descriptions of resources and trauma-informed language. The email featuring her writing continued to be used by the University, sent to over 70,000 students, staff, and faculty in timely warning communications. Also as a student, while serving as the Health Policy Director of Planned Parenthood Generation Action, she co-authored a successful referendum to expand medication abortion access on campus. The referendum went on to inspire Illinois House Bill 3709, signed into law in August 2025, requiring all public colleges and universities in Illinois to offer medication abortion to students on their campuses. During her undergraduate studies, she conducted educational sexual violence prevention programs for thousands of students on her campus and nationwide. In Illinois, she completed internships in higher education gender equity programs, reproductive justice community organizing, and reentry support for formerly incarcerated individuals. In her home state of Minnesota, she completed internships in direct survivor support services and research-based interventions for sexual and domestic violence. In her gap year between undergraduate and graduate school, she worked in mental health patient services in an Emergency Department of a Level I Trauma Center in Illinois, and as a Reproductive Health Assistant at Planned Parenthood of Illinois. In her foundation year as an MSW student, Sydney is contributing to the Training and Technical Assistance Team at the National Organization for Victim Advocacy (NOVA), continuing her chosen dedication to advancing violence intervention initiatives towards better support for survivors of color. In addition to NOVA and her endeavors at Penn, Sydney is the Board President of the EducateUS Fund and a Board Member of EducateUS, two national partner organizations working to advance sex education across the United States.