Debra Summers

Debra Summers serves as the Director of Marketing and Communications for Intellectual Property and Industry Research Alliances at the University of California, Berkeley since September 2019. Previously, Summers was a Project Manager at the UCSF Center for HIV Information from 2015 to 2019 and held the position of Senior Donor Relations Specialist at UCSF from 2011 to 2015, where guidance was provided to prominent university officials in messaging development for significant donors. As a Communications Consultant from 2009 to 2011, Summers worked with a variety of clients, including universities and nonprofit organizations. Early career experience includes roles as Associate Director of Marketing and Public Affairs at The Trust for Public Land, Senior Editor at SavvyHealth, and News Editor and Reporter at GateHouse Media New England. Summers earned an M.A. in Journalism with a focus on Science and Environmental Reporting from New York University and holds a B.A. in Biology and Literature from the University of California, Santa Cruz.