Zhao, Summer
Summer Zhao is an Assistant Professor of Accounting in the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University. She joined the accounting faculty in Fall 2026 after earning her Ph.D. in Accounting from the University of California, Berkeley. At the Leavey School of Business, she teaches ACTG 120 - Accounting Data Analysis and Visualization.
Summer’s research focuses on corporate disclosures, information intermediaries, and how their interactions influence capital markets, using AI-driven textual analysis. She is also interested in how boards of directors and shareholders influence and potentially discipline managerial disclosure behavior.
Before joining academia, Summer had seven years of professional experience in auditing, accounting advisory services, and corporate accounting in the San Francisco Bay Area. Outside of academia, she enjoys traveling, reading, cooking, and spending time with her family.