Executive Director and General Counsel, Office of General Counsel
Executive Director and General Counsel, Office of General Counsel

Biography

Cindy Lovato-Farmer is the Executive Director and General Counsel at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).  In this role, Cindy leads a talented team of legal professionals who are strategic partners providing legal guidance on a broad range of issues and proactively mitigating risk while supporting mission objectives. In addition, Cindy provides leadership and direction on legal and litigation strategies in support of PNNL’s overall mission.  

Prior to joining PNNL, Cindy spent a combined total of 19 years in legal and leadership positions at DOE NNSA National Laboratories. Cindy was Senior Managing General Law and Litigation Counsel at Sandia National Laboratories where she led Sandia’s General Law Center, recognized in 2020 for their strategic partnership with management, strategic approach to litigation and proactive risk mitigation strategy. Prior to joining Sandia, she led the Employment Law & Litigation Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory.  In these roles, Cindy has managed and directly handled a range of complex legal matters and litigation, participated in employee resource groups and supported mission strategies and objectives. Cindy previously was a partner at a law firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico where she handled employment law and civil rights defense litigation and appeals, following a federal judicial clerkship. She is recognized as a specialist in employment law and has been a speaker and instructor at numerous legal seminars and trainings.

Cindy has earned an AV Preeminent peer review rating from Martindale Hubbell which denotes the highest level of professional excellence for legal expertise, communication skills and ethical standards and is in the Martindale Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Women Lawyers. Cindy has obtained In-house Counsel Certification from the Association of Corporate Counsel.  She has been active in legal and community organizations and served on numerous boards.    

A native of New Mexico, Cindy earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from New Mexico State University and a law degree from the University of New Mexico School of Law.