Melissa Schwartz

Melissa has been a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation since 2003 and serves on the board of directors and Executive Committee. She is also a member of the Professional Development Committee, the co-chair of the Temple’s Good Neighbors Initiative, and a member of the leadership team of the WHC Hunger Project.  

Melissa is a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. With deep experience in emerging markets, Melissa advises clients on cross-border transactions involving complex international trade and policy issues. She is a 1988 graduate of Cornell University and received her law degree in 1991 from Harvard Law School. Melissa serves as a trustee at the Washington International School, where she chairs the Advancement Committee. She has also served as a member of the board of directors and secretary of the Global Fund for Children and as a founding board member and secretary of The Human Trafficking Pro Bono Legal Center.  

Melissa and her husband David Muenzer have two children, Benjamin and Emily, who both attended the Temple’s Early Childhood Center and Religious School, are madrachim in the Religious School, and are “Red Aprons” with the WHC Hunger Project.