Brentwood-based CoreCivic promotes Swenson to SVP of Operations and chief corrections officer

CoreCivic announced recently that Daren Swenson has been promoted to senior vice president of Operations and chief corrections officer. In his new leadership role, Swenson will be responsible for CoreCivic Safety, Health Services and Core Services, which includes responsibilities such as security operations, reentry services and food services.  

"Daren has amassed incredibly valuable correctional and leadership experience during his accomplished career with CoreCivic, including the past 16 years as a vice president with evolving roles and responsibilities," said Patrick D. Swindle, CoreCivic's president and chief operating officer. "People across all levels of our organization, including myself, have greatly benefited from his leadership, mentorship and counsel, and I can think of no one better suited to be in this position than Daren."  

Swenson most recently served as CoreCivic's vice president of Core Services and had previously served as vice president of Reentry Partnerships and Innovation, where he led the company’s efforts to combat America's recidivism crisis with innovative reentry programs. He was also vice president of CoreCivic Community, providing services such as employment, housing, healthcare, mental health, substance use treatment, and family reunification for justice-involved individuals to successfully reintegrate back into their communities. In addition, he was vice president of Operations, where he was responsible for overseeing and managing 26 correctional facilities.  

"I’m extremely humbled to have this opportunity to serve as Chief Corrections Officer,” Swenson said. "In my 30-plus years of working at CoreCivic, I have always been so proud of the work our staff does every day, and to now have the privilege of leading them is an honor. I’m also excited about the opportunity to continue our efforts on normalization, which helps ease the transition of those in our care back to their communities, and our commitment to creating the best possible environment for our staff and residents."   

"Our leadership team sees Daren's latest appointment as another important step in both succession planning and the ongoing evolution of our leadership structure to best meet the emerging needs of our government partners," Swindle added. "With his vast experience at all levels of CoreCivic, Daren understands how our company’s capabilities come together to help our government partners better the public good."  

Swenson joined CoreCivic in August 1992 as a Seagent and has continued to hold positions of increasing responsibility throughout his career, including lieutenant, captain, unit manager, assistant chief of security, chief of security, assistant warden, warden and managing director, as well as more than 20 years in correctional leadership at the executive level.    

Swenson holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from North Dakota State University and recently earned a master's degree in management and organizational leadership from Middle Tennessee State University.