Brenna Johnston leads the academic support program for NAU Athletics.  She has been a part of NAU Athletics in student-athlete services since 2018.

Johnston worked as an academic advisor for four years prior to beginning her role for NAU Athletics in eligibility certification and compliance. 

She was nominated in 2022 by NAU Athletics to participate in the second-ever cohort of the Big Sky U professional development program for aspiring ADs and SWAs. She was nominated for the “Guiding Axe” award for student-athletes by SAAC in 2023 and 2024.

Johnston has lived in many college towns including Eugene, Ore., Chapel Hill, N.C., Bloomington, Ind., Athens, Ohio and has been settled in Flagstaff since 2016.  Hailing from North Carolina originally, Johnston attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for her undergraduate degree, and earned her master’s degree in Sport Psychology at the University of Denver.
 
She is active with the broader NAU Community as a founder of the Athletics & Advising Committee, and having served on the University Budget Advisory Board, the Staff Advisory Council as a voting Councilmember, and the Commission on the Status of Women.  She currently serves on the Academic Standards Committee and the Gold Axe Awards Committee.