Faye Matthews

  • Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Law
Assistant: Susie Della Ruffa
914-422-4259

Education

BS, University of New Orleans 
JD, Southern University Law Center

Fayenisha "Faye" Matthews joined the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University faculty as 2022-2023 Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Law. She was previously an Adjunct Professor and taught the Environmental Law Current Challenges Course in Spring 2022. Professor Matthews’ primary research areas are water law and policy, climate mitigation and climate adaptation.

Prior to joining Haub Law’s faculty, she worked as Senior Counsel at the National Wildlife Federation. There she provided advice on varied law and policy coastal, climate and water-related matters relative to restoring a healthy ecosystem in the face of critical wetland loss and sea level rise. She also developed a legal and policy student intern program where she supervised law students. Notably, she led a successful litigation strategy to halt further water and air pollution in overburdened communities on the frontlines of a changing climate. Professor Matthews developed programs and resources to aid some of the most vulnerable communities and industries in transition activities.  

She served as Democratic Legislative Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. She worked as Of Counsel at Waltzer, Wiygul and Garside, Law Firm in Gretna, LA where she represented clients in Clean Water Act matters, particularly in private citizen environmental enforcement actions.

Professor Matthews is a New Orleans native. She teaches as an Adjunct Professor at Loyola College of Law - New Orleans. Professor Matthews is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association and the Energy, Environment and Resources Section of the American Bar Association. She serves on the legal advisory committee of the Louisiana Climate Initiatives Task Force. In her downtime, she enjoys reading, yoga, and outdoor activities, especially hiking and biking in National Parks.