Thursday, May 15, 2025
Aliʻiōlani Hale, Supreme Court
5:30-7:30 PM (HST)
The Hawaiʻi State Judiciary’s Committee on Equality and Access to the Courts (CEAC) and the King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center are pleased to present the Equitable and Sustainable Futures Speaker Series. Five public programs are scheduled through May 2025 to build pilina (connection and collaboration) between stakeholders across the justice system. Through engaging public discussions, this series seeks to drive critical change in law, policy, and institutional practices to improve public awareness, safety, and wellbeing. The series is cosponsored by the Hawaiʻi State Bar Association Civic Education Committee.
Program 5 of 5-Part Series
Perspectives on Reform: Building a Trauma-Informed Justice System in Hawaiʻi
The development of a trauma-informed justice system in Hawaiʻi is increasingly advocated for as a vital step toward healing individual trauma and sustaining long-term community wellbeing. This panel discussion brings together experts from Hawaiʻi’s legal system, public health sector, Native Hawaiian healing traditions, and restorative justice initiatives. Together, they will examine how trauma intersects with justice and explore practical, culturally grounded approaches for creating a more responsive and compassionate justice system in Hawaiʻi.
This programming series is a follow-up to CEAC’s Racial Equity Speaker Series that occurred virtually between January and May 2021 (access recordings here).
Featured Panelists:
Moderator: Tia L. R. Hartsock
Tia L. R. Hartsock is the inaugural director of the Office of Wellness and Resilience, housed within the Office of the Governor Josh Green, M.D. It is the first statewide office of its kind in the nation, supporting the wellness and resilience of Hawai’i’s people through trauma-informed, healing-centered strategies.
Tia has worked for nearly 25 years to improve our state’s mental health and criminal justice systems. She is on several national initiatives and working groups related to trauma-informed care, including Pathways to Resilience with the National Governors Association and the National Behavioral Health Equity Steering Committee.
Formerly, Tia was the project director on three Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)-funded initiatives within the Hawai‘i Department of Health to develop and provide mental health services for adolescent girls and other historically underserved populations, overseeing multiagency collaborations to improve the delivery of services by the state’s mental health system using trauma-informed and gender-specific frameworks.
Tia is a nationally certified trauma-informed care trainer with SAMHSA’s Gains Center. She was also appointed as an adjunct faculty lecturer at the University of Hawai‘i Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, and has lectured at both the undergraduate and graduate level. She has been named an Outstanding Government Leader by Mental Health America Hawai‘i, and received the Daniel K. Inouye Award from the Hawai‘i Psychological Association.
Tia earned her Master of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from Chaminade University with a specialization in juvenile justice and her Master of Social Work from the University of Hawai‘i with a specialization focus on mental health.
Judge Jessi Hall (District Family Court Judge, First Circuit)
Dr. Jamee Miller
Dr. Jamee Māhealani Miller is the Co-Founder and President of ʻEkolu Mea Nui, which seeks to transform Hawai‘i’s justice system through Native Hawaiian cultural practices and values. She has dedicated her entire professional life to working with Native Hawaiians, and through all of her professional success, Dr. Miller has made her ʻohana a top priority. Unforeseen personal circumstances brought her to the work of justice reform in Hawaiʻi and the creation of ʻEkolu Mea Nui—named for her son ʻEkolu.
Dr. Miller has held positions at the Queen Liliʻuokalani Trust—where she increased her learning and practices in indigenous methodologies towards healing—and now serves as Regional Director on Oʻahu for another aliʻi Trust. Dr. Miller also started a child abuse prevention program in Waimānalo to service Hawaiian ʻohana and keiki, where she led a team of multi-disciplinary professionals to strengthen local families’ child-rearing practices.
Dr. Miller has a Doctorate degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California, a Master’s in Social Work, and Bachelor’s in Hawaiian Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She is a licensed clinician with the state of Hawai‘i. Dr. Miller is also a student of hula with Hālau o Ke ʻAʻaliʻi Kū Makani. She enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Lorinda Riley
Lorinda Riley, SJD is an Assistant Professor in Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Health at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Department of Public Health Sciences, with a joint appointment at Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge. She is also affiliated faculty at UH’s William S. Richardson School of Law.
Dr. Riley’s research focuses on indigenous conceptions of wellbeing as well as policies related to indigenous social determinants of health. Her scholarship focuses on policy surveillance, historical trauma, restorative justice models, and the impact of the ocean on health and wellbeing. Dr. Riley is passionate about incorporating civic knowledge and engagement in the classroom.
Dr. Riley obtained her SJD in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy, as well as her JD and MA in American Indian Studies, from the University of Arizona. She received a BA in Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
