About Us

Holly Fairbairn received her BA in Economics and Religious Studies from Guilford College in 1989. She worked as an outdoor guide for five years, spending many winter months doing community service projects before entering law school in 1994.

She graduated with honors from the NCCU School of Law and worked at Pisgah Legal Services for six years. She then joined the firm of Ganly, Ramer and Strom, later the Law Office of Cynthia Strom. In 2006, she and Susan Chitwood formed Chitwood & Fairbairn, P.A. Ms. Fairbairn has written extensively and given presentations to her attorney peers on Ethics, Social Security, Medicaid, and other government benefits programs. She has spoken to groups of medical providers, insurance billers, and support groups including those related to living with brain injury, arthritis, mental illness, chronic pain, epilepsy, cancer, and fibromyalgia.  She is a member of the Buncombe County Bar, the NCBA, and organizations committed to assisting those with disabilities, including NOSSCR (Sustaining Member) and NCAJ. She takes certain cases to federal court, and accepts referrals from other attorneys for representation of their clients in appeals or for brief writing. She is one of those attorneys that other attorneys call when they need to puzzle through an issue. 

She is also an active mom, who loves music, running, soccer, and a version of volleyball in which the ball can bounce!  She has been a volunteer Board member for Homeward Bound, WNCAP, and the Asheville Youth Ministry. Follow the link to the NC Bar Specialists web page: http://www.nclawspecialists.gov/

Anne Stelts is a North Carolina native with a distinguished professional background acquired during many years in Washington, D.C. with the Social Security Administration. 

Anne attended Wake Forest University, earning summa cum laude honors and induction into Phi Beta Kappa. She continued at Wake Forest University School of Law, excelling in moot court and serving as a clerk at Pisgah Legal Services in Asheville.

Asheville now becomes her home after several years working in areas such as municipal law and corporate transactions and then serving four years as a Clerk for a U.S. Magistrate Judge in Federal District Court, working mainly in Social Security Disability Law. Most recently, she was an Attorney-Advisor at the Social Security Administration's Appeals Council. She handled a wide range of assignments there in disability examination and quality review.

Her extensive experience and commitment to excellence in the practice of Social Security Disability Law will be a significant asset to our clients, especially as she focuses on enhancing our Federal District Court practice. 

When she's not assisting clients, she looks forward to enjoying the outdoors and visiting friends and family with her husband, Dave, and their children. Her hobbies include yoga, reading, and travel.

Susan Chitwood Barton served as Of Counsel to the firm for many years. She was licensed as an attorney in 1981 after graduating from and attending law school at the Indiana University, Bloomington. In 2006, she invited Attorney Holly Fairbairn to join her practice, the Law Offices of Susan Chitwood Barton. Ultimately, they formed a Professional Association, Chitwood and Fairbairn, PA, and the practice blossomed. 

She has served as the Peace and Justice Chairperson at St. Barnabus Parish and has been a volunteer attorney with Pisgah Legal Services and the Animal Defense League.

We could add many other details, such as her history as a litigator and a worker's compensation attorney, and her comfort speaking Spanish, and the fact that she sometimes has elevator dreams. She has been an impressive and zealous advocate and is generally out of this world. While she is retired from the practice of law, she continues to assist those in need in her community.