Cydonii V. Fairfax
Executive Vice President & General Counsel
“The Houston region is an economically vibrant, fast-growing metropolitan area and working at METRO really helps you understand how public transit is essential to contributing toward and sustaining that growth.”
— Cydonii V. Fairfax
Cydonii Fairfax provides legal advice and counsel to METRO’s CEO, Board of Directors, fellow members of the Executive Leadership Team and their staff.
Fairfax has 18 professionals on her team.
The Legal Department handles a wide range of matters for the entire agency, including contracts, litigation, labor and employment, real estate, procurement, governance, compliance and ethics.
Prior to joining METRO, Fairfax was senior vice president and deputy general counsel of American Capital, Ltd., a publicly-traded private equity firm and global asset manager.
She was responsible for overseeing corporate governance for the fund group and the legal documentation of more than $30 billion in corporate financings.
Fairfax also advised the boards of directors and senior management teams for four public companies.
After graduating summa cum laude from the University of Maryland at College Park with a degree in finance, she worked at the Central Intelligence Agency and then obtained her law degree from Harvard Law School.
Fairfax grew up taking public transportation in Washington, D.C., New York and Boston and frequently uses METRO’s system.
Past Positions
Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, American Capital, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACAS)
- Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, American Capital, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ACAS)
- Senior Associate, Arnold & Porter LLP
- Judicial Law Clerk, Honorable Inez Smith Reid, District of Columbia Court of Appeals
Professional Associations and Activities
- Senior Fellow, American Leadership Forum Class XLIX
- Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland Board of Advisors, Member
- Frequent speaker on governance, compliance and ethics topics
- American Bar Association, Member
- Houston Bar Association, Member
- Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, Member
- Women in Transit, Member
- General Counsel Forum, Member
- Association of Corporate Counsel, Member
Civic Activities and Honors
- Miller Outdoor Theatre Advisory Board, Member
- Greater Southeast Management District Board of Directors, Member
- Parkwood Drive Civic Club Board of Directors, Past Member
- Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, Women’s Guild Executive Board, Past Member
- 2019 “Top 50 GCs in Houston” Award Recipient from the National Diversity Council
- 2019, Audrey H. Lawson IMPACT Award Recipient
- 2017, “Top 30 Influential Women in Houston” Award Recipient from DMars.com
Education and Certifications
- Harvard Law School, Juris Doctor
- University of Maryland at College Park, Bachelor of Science (summa cum laude) in Finance
Law Licenses
- Texas
- Maryland
- District of Columbia
Phone: 713-652-8053