Melissa Schwartz

Melissa has been a member of Washington Hebrew Congregation since 2003. She serves on the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, and Budget & Finance Committee, and is the chair of the Professional Development Committee. Melissa has been a “red apron” for the WHC Hunger Project for more than a decade and served as co-chair of the Temple’s Good Neighbors Initiative.

Melissa graduated from Cornell University with majors in Economics and Russian & Soviet Studies and received her law degree in 1991 from Harvard Law School. A partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Melissa’s practice focuses on advising clients on transactions involving complex geopolitical and policy issues. She has served as a founding board member and secretary of The Human Trafficking Pro Bono Legal Center, and as a member of the board of directors of the Global Fund for Children and the Washington International School.