Austin, TX
Chief Stephens led the department in navigating the evolving security needs of one of the nation’s leading research centers and a campus community of nearly 75,000 students, faculty members, staffers and visitors at the center of a large and thriving city environment.
Previously, she served for 24 years at the Austin Police Department (APD). Stephens worked her way up from patrol officer in East Austin to serve as detective in the department’s Child Abuse, Internal Affairs and Financial Crimes units. From there, Stephens served as a sergeant over a team in South Central Patrol and moved to lead a unit in APD’s Organized Crime Division shortly after. In 2016, Stephens was hand-picked by the chief of police to serve as staffing lieutenant. In 2019, Stephens was tapped as APD’s Training Academy lieutenant, training 333 cadets in a two-year span and boasting a 100% pass rate for the state peace officer licensing exam. In 2021, she was promoted to commander, providing leadership to the North Central Patrol Bureau. Stephens was one of two commanders who provided strategic and tactical leadership for APD SWAT team deployments.
Chief Stephens graduated summa cum laude from Sam Houston State University with a B.A. in criminal justice and a minor in Spanish. She earned a Master of Public Safety from the University of Virginia. Stephens is also a graduate of the 281st class of the FBI National Academy.