“Achieve Now is working to provide a hand up to children for their future success.”  

Michelle S. Conn 
Chair

Director of U.S. Operations
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP 
Joined in 2014 

As the Director of U.S. Operations for Akin Gump, Michelle serves as a central point of operational excellence for the firm, providing leadership to the local Office Administrators in each of the firm's U.S. offices and to a wide variety of departments from administrative secretarial support to real estate & construction. Before coming to Akin Gump, Michelle was the Director of Administration for Morgan Lewis, where she was responsible for the day-to-day operations of their Philadelphia, Princeton, and Wilmington offices.  

 At Morgan Lewis, Michelle volunteered as an Achieve Now coach before becoming the site coordinator, managing the program from the corporate partner side. Witnessing first-hand the program’s effectiveness, she “jumped in feet first” to help further the organization’s mission, joining the board in 2014. A lifelong reader, Michelle was inspired to serve this organization in order to help Philadelphia school children find a love for reading too.