Summer Stephan served as a Deputy District Attorney in San Diego County for 28 years, rising through the ranks to appointments as Chief of the DA’s North County Branch and Chief of the Sex Crimes and Human Trafficking Division, which are special victim units that she pioneered. In 2012, she was appointed Chief Deputy District Attorney. In 2017, she was appointed District Attorney. On June 5, 2018, she was elected District Attorney. She was named the 2017 Southern California District Attorney of the Year by Crime Victims United.

As a trial prosecutor, Stephan tried more than 100 jury trials, including special circumstance homicides, sexually violent predators, child molestation, sexual assault, child abuse, school shooting, and human trafficking-related cases.

Summer holds leadership positions in public safety on the national state and local level. She serves as Chair of the County of San Diego Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Advisory Council. She Co-Chairs the California District Attorneys Association Human Trafficking Committee and chairs the Women Prosecutors of the National District Attorneys Association, Human Trafficking Committee. She also chairs the Task Force on Threats of Targeted Violence to our schools and community. She was selected as one of only two prosecutors in California to serve on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Task Force for High-Risk Sex Offenders and Sexually-Violent Predators.

Summer received her bachelor of arts degree from the University of California at Davis and her Juris Doctor from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. She completed the “Driving Government Performance” Executive Education Course at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.