Summer Deaver is a strategic and creative leader with over two decades of experience guiding institutions, communities, and individuals through transformative growth. With a career spanning higher education, wellness, hospitality, beauty, tech and the nonprofit sector, she brings a rare combination of administrative acumen, compassionate leadership, and visionary systems design.
As Director of the Caroline Huber Wellness Center at Brookdale Community College, Summer oversees multi-year grants, complex budgets, and strategic initiatives that integrate wellness, equity, and operational excellence across the institution. Under her leadership, the Center’s team has implemented a poverty-informed operational plan, and devised systems to increase student retention by providing trauma-informed programming, critical basic needs support including a food pantry, free mental health services for all students, and an emergency fund.
Previously, as Chief of Staff at Marilyn Group, Summer partnered with the CEO and executive team to execute multi-million-dollar ventures, scale new brands, and build governance systems that aligned company culture with business strategy. She implemented an operational framework to unify all enterprises, including an innovative HR strategy. She has also served as Executive Director of Yoga Peace Kula, where she advanced community wellness through yoga, mindfulness, and social justice programs, and trained hundreds of teachers and practitioners now working worldwide.
Throughout her career, Summer has designed and delivered mindfulness-based leadership programs, operational frameworks, and wellness strategies for startups, nonprofits, and educational institutions alike. A skilled facilitator and cross-functional leader, she excels at aligning mission-driven work with systems-level change.
A lifelong artist and teacher’s teacher, Summer brings authenticity, presence, and daring kindness to her leadership. She continues to advocate for environmental regeneration, trauma-informed community building, and the intersection of art, wellness, and social impact.
