Taylor Swenson was hired as NAU's Director of Compliance in October 2026, returning to the NAU Athletic Department where she was previously a student-athlete and a graduate assistant.

In her role, Swenson oversees recruiting and playing/practice season legislation, as well as supporting NCAA, conference, NIL, transfer portal, eligibility and strategic compliance initiatives.

Swenson rejoined the Athletic Department after four years on campus most recently as a Program Manager. She led operations for a large-scale mentoring program supporting more than 1,000 participants on an annual basis, increasing participation by 76.2% from Fall 2024 to Fall 2025, and 133% from Spring 2025 to Spring 2026.

Swenson was a starting middle blocker for the NAU Volleyball team from 2011-14, appearing in 84 matches over four seasons. Over her career, she totaled 353 kills, 246 blocks, 153 digs and 29 service aces. She finished her career tied for sixth in program history with 0.97 blocks per set. As a student-athlete, she was a four-time Golden Eagle Scholar-Athlete Award recipient, three-time Big Sky All-Academic selection, Capital One Academic All-District 8 Second Team honoree and recipient of the prestigious NAU Gold Axe Award.

Following graduation, Swenson served as a Learning Specialist Graduate Assistant in the Athletic Department from 2020-22, a role in which she managed a caseload of student-athletes, educating them on organizational strategies, personal accountability and academic planning, with a focus on first-year and at-risk populations.

Stephens graduated from NAU with a bachelor's degree in biomedical science while minoring in chemistry. She also holds master's degrees in counseling student affairs from NAU and secondary education (STEM emphasis) from Arizona State University.