Name a skill you’ve learned to master.

Looking for and finding common ground to make peace where possible. I honed this skill as a middle child in a large family.

What do law shows get wrong (or right) about the work you do?

The wheels of justice turn slowly. Rarely is a matter resolved in the space of an hour like on television. The process takes much longer than most people realize.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

Live and learn with intention. This is your life, and just going along for the ride might leave you at someone else’s destination, not yours. A close second is to speak and write with precision—be very clear in what you want.

Name a guilty pleasure.

Reading a good fiction book on a soft couch on a rainy day.

Describe yourself in five words or less.

Iron fist in velvet glove.

What’s something you’ve always had a knack for? 

Being a team leader at work and in sports.

What’s something you had to learn the hard way?

Some of life’s situations require you to stand apart from the team.

What advice do you have for young professionals looking to get ahead?

Seek out a mentor who will help you learn by doing, and ask questions.

You’re board chair for the Women’s Fund of Hawai‘i. What are some factors keeping women from reaching their full potential?

It will be difficult for women to reach their full potential until there is a critical mass of women who girls can look up to and see in leadership roles in every sector of society. Other difficulties have been around for a long time and are still problems today—economic disparity, traditional gender roles surrounding family care and workplace models that don’t consider women on equal terms as men and that define success in terms of male traits.

Do you consider yourself a feminist? What does the term mean to you?

I don’t really use the term feminist, but I believe that empowering women is the key to moving the ball forward for all of us. Call it what you will.

What do you wish all young girls could know from the get-go?

I wish all young girls—and boys—knew they can write their own story.

Who is the most inspiring woman you know?

My mother. She’s amazing—and a force. I often wonder what she would have been if she was born a generation later.

What woman in history (or today) do you find most inspiring and why?

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg—she was killing it before and is back for more.