We are grateful to have recently welcomed three new leaders to the Crossroads Prison Ministries Board of Directors. Each brings a unique background, deep expertise, and a shared commitment to transformation, restoration, and the hope of the Gospel. Their combined experience in theology, organizational leadership, corrections, education, and lived experience will strengthen Crossroads as we continue to serve men and women impacted by incarceration around the world.
Dr. Todd Cioffi
Dr. Todd Cioffi joins the Crossroads board with a strong foundation in theology, ministry leadership, and prison education. He has served on the faculty of Calvin University since 2009, where he teaches in the Ministry Leadership department. Prior to Calvin, Dr. Cioffi taught at Whitworth University.
He earned his B.A. in philosophy from Hope College and completed both his Master of Divinity and Ph.D. in systematic theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. His teaching spans systematic theology, philosophy, Christian ethics, and religion and politics.
Beyond the classroom, Dr. Cioffi is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and has served a variety of churches and ministries. He also serves as the senior advisor to the Calvin Prison Initiative, bringing valuable insight into higher education within correctional settings. His experience at the intersection of faith, education, and incarceration will be an important asset to Crossroads.
Dr. Valorie L. Sanders
Dr. Valorie Sanders brings expertise in organizational development, leadership, and culture change within correctional and public-sector environments. She holds a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and a master’s degree in counseling psychology, with more than 20 years of experience strengthening organizations through leadership development, performance improvement, and workforce engagement.
Currently, Dr. Sanders serves as Director of Professional Development for the American Correctional Association and as a Senior Organizational Development Consultant for Keller Professional Services. Her career includes senior leadership roles within Maryland state government, including Deputy Comptroller of Public Engagement and Communications and multiple executive director positions within the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. She has also led performance improvement initiatives within healthcare systems, including the University of Maryland Medical Center and Laurel Regional Hospital.
A certified Lean Black Belt and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Practitioner, Dr. Sanders designs and delivers enterprise-wide training, coaching, and process improvement programs that strengthen leadership, professionalism, and organizational effectiveness. Her passion for building healthy workplace cultures and developing people at every level aligns closely with Crossroads’ mission and values.
Dr. Robert Hyde
Dr. Robert Hyde brings a testimony of redemption, faith, and perseverance shaped by more than two decades of incarceration. Growing up with an absent father and a murdered mother, Robert’s early life was marked by anger and led him into criminal activity. He spent 24 years in Louisiana prisons, where he encountered Jesus Christ in a prison cell—an encounter that changed the course of his life.
During his final 11 years of incarceration at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Dr. Hyde pursued theological education through the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary extension program. He earned his associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees while incarcerated, was ordained at Angola, and became the senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church—the only associated, cooperative, missions-giving Southern Baptist church located within prison walls.
Following his release in 2022, Dr. Hyde served as Director of Education at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman. He currently leads the NOBTS extension center at the prison, serves as an adjunct professor, completed his Doctor of Ministry degree in December, and will enter PhD residency at NOBTS this year. He is married to his wife, Nancy, and is the proud father of seven children and grandfather of seven grandchildren.
Looking Ahead
We thank God for each of these leaders and the wisdom, experience, and perspective they bring to Crossroads. As we continue to walk alongside incarcerated men and women through our correspondence-based Bible studies and mentorship program, we are encouraged by the strength of our board and their shared commitment to lives transformed by Christ. Please join us in welcoming Dr. Todd Cioffi, Dr. Valorie Sanders, and Dr. Robert Hyde to the Crossroads family.