HAWAII WOMEN LAWYERS
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Current HWL Officers and Directors

​President - Michi Momose
Vice President - Nicole Altman
Secretary -  Tara Buckley
Treasurer - Erin Kobayashi
Immediate Past President - Kimi Ide-Foster

​Directors
Stephanie Batzer
Pohai Nuuhiwa Campbell
Samantha Chan
Jill Hasegawa
Mihoko Ito
Nicole Kalakau
Amanda Lavis
Tricia Nakamatsu
Jennifer Ontai
Alana Peacott-Ricardos
Molly Stebbins
​Shan Wirt
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​Law Student Reps
Joanna Amberger
Danielle Bell
Jessie Brenton
Coco Brown
Harley Broyles
Hannah Caddle
Susan Chon
Hoku Chun
Maricar Daoang
Brenna Dicks
Terina Faagau
Melanie Fujita
Rebecca Grennon
Hannah Harper
Kym Kanenaka
Monte Keawe-Costa
Sarah Kelly
Caroline Kikkawa
Gillian Kim
Kamrie Koy
Kelly Kwan
Tehani Louis-Perkins
Madison McDonald
Michelle McDow
Ariel McKenzie
Hitomi Ozaki-Ly
Kori Palencia
Gloria Palma
Kimberly Robinson
Topsy Romero
Emily Sampson
Mana Shim
Ela Silaeva
Dominique Tosatto
Ivana Tran
Turner Wong

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​HWL History
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​Founded in 1976, HWL has been at the forefront of significant legal issues affecting women attorneys, women, children and families.
​

Past Presidents

2019/2020: Kimi Ide-Foster
2018/2019: Kristine Yoo/Jacquie Esser
2017/2018: Mihoko Ito
2016/2017: H. Shan Wirt
2015/2016: Natalie Younoszai
2014/2015: Tricia M. Nakamatsu
2013/2014: Shellie K. Park-Hoapili
2012: M. Nalani Fujimori-Kaina
2011: Patsy Saiki
2010: Ruth Oh
2009: Joanne L. Grimes
2008: Emi Kaimuloa
2007: Lauren Sharkey
2006: Lynne McGivern
2005: Stacey Djou
2004: Lane Hornfeck
2003: Joy Miyasaki
2002: April Wilson-South
2001: Melissa Pavlicek
2000: Nancye Bethurem/Melissa Pavlicek


1999: Nancye Bethurem
1998: Rosemary McShane
1997: Susan Ichinose
1996: Magali Sunderland
1995: Pamela Byrne
1994: Laura Thielen
1993: Corianne Lau
1992: Trudy Burns
1991: Linnel Nishioka
1990: Ellen Godbey Carson
1989: Ellen Godbey Carson
1987: Laurie Furuya
1986: Leslie A. Hayashi
1985: Joyce Neeley
1984: Virginia Crandall
1983: Dona Hanaike
1982: Nancy Stivers/Marguerite Simson
1981: Sherry Broder
​1980: Carol Mon Lee

​Notable Projects
  • Organizing and hosting the "Hawaii Women Lawyers Presents: 2020 Honolulu Prosecutors Debate" on Saturday, July 11, 2020, in partnership with ThinkTech Hawaii. A full video of the debate can be viewed HERE.
  • Co-sponsoring the Domestic Violence Legal Hotline in 1988 which eventually became the Domestic Violence Action Center
  • Writing and publishing the first edition of Our Rights, Our Lives: A Guide to Women’s Legal Rights in Hawai`i
  • Supporting the publication Called from Within, a collection of biographies featuring many pioneering women attorneys in Hawaii​


​Milestones for Women Lawyers in Hawaii
1888: Almeda Hitchcock, first woman admitted to practice law; only woman admitted in the 19th century
1900: Elizabeth Helena Ryan, first woman to sign the “Roll of Attorneys” for the federal district court
1916: Marguerite Ashford, first woman admitted to practice law in the Territory of Hawaii
1925: Carrick Hume Buck, first woman assistant U.S. District Attorney for the Territory of Hawaii
1934: Carrick Hume Buck, first woman appointed to a judgeship in Hawaii
1942: Sau Ung Loo Chan, first Asian woman admitted to the Bar
1944: Jean Vaughan Gilbert, first woman City and County attorney for Honolulu
1955: Patsy Mink, first Japanese-American woman elected to the territorial legislature
1959: Rhoda Lewis, first woman appointed to the Hawaii Supreme Court
1960: Betty Vitousek, first woman appointed executive director of the Hawaii State Bar Association
1965: Patsy Mink, first female minority in Congress; first Asian American woman elected to Congress
1970: Betty Vitousek first woman appointed as a Family Court judge
1972: Patsy Mink, the first Asian American woman to seek the US Presidential nomination
1976: Hawaii Women Lawyers established by Rai Saint Chu
1982: The Hawaii Women’s Lawyer Foundation established (The Hawaii Women’s Legal Foundation)
1980: Marie Nakanishi Milks, first woman appointed to District Court; also first Asian.
1983: Patsy Mink, first woman attorney chair of the City Council
1984: Marie Milks, first woman appointed as a Circuit Court judge
Mid 1980s: Patricia Devlin, first woman managing partner of a large law firm (Carlsmith Ball, LLP)
1986: Corinne Watanabe, Hawaii’s first woman Attorney General
1992: Corinne Watanabe, first woman on the Intermediate Court of Appeals
1993: Paula Nakayama, second woman appointed to the Hawaii Supreme Court
1994: Helen Gillmor, first woman appointed to Hawaii District Court federal bench
1996: Faye Kurren, CEO of Tesoro, 1st woman attorney CEO
1998: Susan Mollway, first Japanese-American appointed to the Federal District Court nationwide
2002: Marcia Waldorf, first woman judge from Hawaii to receive the ABA’s Franklin Flaschner Award
2003: Rosemary Fazio, first woman on the Judicial Selection Commission
2006: Colleen Hanabusa, first woman attorney elected President of the Hawaii Senate
2007: Rosemary Fazio, first woman attorney chair of the Judicial Selection Commission
2009: Florence Nakakuni, first woman appointed as United States District Attorney in Hawaii
2011: Sabrina McKenna, third woman appointed to the Hawaii Supreme Court
2012: Mazie Hirono, first Asian American woman in the U.S. Senate

***If any information on this list appears incorrect, please contact us at hawaiiwomenlawyers@gmail.com.

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Hawaii Women Lawyers
P.O. Box 2072
Honolulu, Hawaii 96805

hawaiiwomenlawyers@gmail.com
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