Former Senior Advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Joins Akin Gump

(Austin, Texas) – Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP announced today that Beth Ann Bryan has joined the firm as a senior education advisor. Ms. Bryan will focus on expanding the firm’s national education practice, particularly with regard to policy issues involving education reform.

Prior to joining Akin Gump, Ms. Bryan served as a senior advisor to U.S. Secretary of Education Roderick Paige. She was involved with several key initiatives, including the “No Child Left Behind” Act of 2001, reading, teacher quality and preparation, the President’s Commission on Excellence in Special Education, Head Start and early childhood. Additionally, she worked closely with Laura Bush’s office on all of Mrs. Bush’s education initiatives. Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Education, Ms. Bryan served as an education advisor to Governor George W. Bush and to the Texas Governor’s Business Council.

Ms. Bryan commented, “It was a privilege and wonderful opportunity to work with both President Bush and Secretary Paige. While it was a difficult decision to depart from the Department of Education, I could not pass up the opportunity to work with Akin Gump in helping various entities, in both the private and public sectors, with implementation of the new national education reforms.”

Sandy Kress, head of the firm’s education practice group and former advisor to President Bush, added, “Beth Ann is nationally known and respected as a wonderful resource to the education community. She will be an incredible addition to both the firm and our clients, who will benefit in countless ways from her knowledge and expertise. We are thrilled to have her as a member of our team.”

Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, a leading international law firm, numbers nearly 1,000 lawyers with offices in Albany, Austin, Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, New York, Northern Virginia, Philadelphia, Riverside, Riyadh (affiliate), San Antonio and Washington. The firm has a diversified practice and represents regional, national and international clients in a wide range of areas, including antitrust; banking and financial institutions; capital markets; communications; corporate and securities; employee benefits; energy, land use and environment; entertainment; estate planning, wealth transfer and probate; financial restructuring; government contracts; health; insurance; intellectual property; international; investment management; labor and employment; litigation; mergers and acquisitions; privatization; project development and finance; public law and policy; real estate and finance; taxation; and technology. For additional information, please visit our Web site at http://www.akingump.com.

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