Michael Elston was named Secretary of the Board of Governors in January 2020. Elston is responsible for carrying out the duties and functions of the Office of the Board of Governors, including compliance with all statutory requirements, and the day-to-day administration of the office. He began serving as acting secretary in June 2018.

Elston was the Associate General Counsel and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer of the Postal Service from May 2014 to January 2020. He has also served as Chief Counsel, Employment Law, and Chief Counsel, Appellate and Commercial Litigation.

Before joining the Postal Service in 2010, Elston was in private practice, where he represented corporate and individual clients in civil, criminal and investigative matters. From 1999 to 2007, he held a variety of positions in the U.S. Department of Justice, including Counselor and Chief of Staff to the Deputy Attorney General (2005-2007) and Assistant United States Attorney (1999-2006). From 2005 to 2006, he also served as an ex officio commissioner of the United States Sentencing Commission. In 2006, Elston received the John Marshall Award, the Justice Department’s highest award to attorneys for contributions and excellence in specialized areas of legal performance. He also practiced law with firms in Chicago and Kansas City from 1996 to 1999.

Elston served as a law clerk to the Honorable Pasco M. Bowman, U.S. Circuit Judge for the 8th Circuit, from 1994 to 1996. He earned a Juris Doctorate with high honors from Duke University School of Law in Durham, North Carolina, in 1994, and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1991.

Latest update: May 2023