Cynthia Victoria Fondriest

Cynthia Chmura Fondriest, age 67, of Alexandria, Virginia, passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 10, 2014. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Ms. Fondriest graduated from Cass Technical High School and attended Michigan State University. She had a twenty-year career in advertising agencies in both Detroit and Chicago. After the birth of her two daughters, Mary Margaret and Sarah Elizabeth, Ms. Fondriest began a new career in commuter transportation management, first at the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments and, in 1986, joining the City of Alexandria as a Transportation Planner. In 1987, she founded her own consulting business, Strategic Transportation Initiatives, providing transportation management, marketing and strategic planning to corporations, developers and government agencies throughout the United States. A visionary in the field, she opened and operated the first retail Commuter Store in the Washington DC region in 1980, developed the CarrCOMPASS transportation benefits program for the Oliver Carr Company, and pioneered in the application of marketing research to commuter transportation issues. She was an early advocate of employer-based telework programs and most recently was working on the installation of electric car-charging stations. A long-time member of the Association for Commuter Transportation, she served several terms as a member of the ACT Board of Directors, chaired the Association's International Conferences in 1989, 1999 and 2009, and served as President of the Chesapeake Chapter for twelve years. She also was active in the Michigan State University Alumni Association, where she served as Director of Networking for the DC Spartans, affectionately known within the association as "Spartan Cindy." In addition to her daughters Mary Margaret of Craftsbury, Vermont and Sarah Elizabeth (Brian Staton) of Springfield, Virginia and granddaughter Carmela Staton, Ms. Fondriest is survived by two sisters, Carol Castronova (Frank) and Christine Scandirito, nieces, Ellen (Michael) Scandirito, Emily (Chip) Dumitrescu, Andrea (Jamie) Merritt, nephews Frank (Gaye) Castronova, and Anthony (Sarah) Castronova. The family will be receiving visitors at the Everly-Wheatley Funeral Home in Alexandria on Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Funeral services will be held at St. Christopher's Church in Springfield on Friday at 10 a.m. Burial will be in Detroit.