[2] Born in Norfolk, Virginia, Sarah Lee Odend'hal was educated locally first at Leache-Wood Seminary (founded by Irene Leache (1839–1900) and Anna Cogswell Wood (1850–1940)).

[1] Odend'hal then embarked on a teaching career, spending twelve years in the city's public schools[3] as both a teacher and administrator,[4] while taking summer courses through the University of Virginia.

[1] The University did not directly offer diplomas to women, but the work she did in her summer courses provided her with the equivalent of an undergraduate degree in education and administration.

[1] Odend'hal married Army officer and architect Walter Colquitt Fain on September 8, 1917,[4] and began a career in civic life shortly thereafter.

[6] Upon her arrival in Richmond, Fain was treated as something of a novelty, but disappointed some because she focused on the maritime and education issues important to her constituents, rather than a feminist agenda (as her detractors feared).

[4] In 1931 Fain and her husband moved to Washington, D.C., where she received a number of appointments supporting New Deal programs; she worked for the National Emergency Council, and served as the first chief of the United States Information Service, in whose creation she assisted.