For the past 22 years, Maile Shimabukuro ’92 has faithfully represented her community as a Hawaii State Legislator. She served in both the State House and the State Senate, working on justice initiatives that address education, disability, and environmental efforts, and women’s and children’s programs. “My community has the highest concentration of native Hawaiians,” she says. “Also, we have a very high poverty rate. A lot of the bills I’m proud to have passed look at that sector of the community.”
After graduating from CC, Shimabukuro worked as a paralegal for five years at Legal Aid Society of Hawaii before getting her law degree from the University of Hawaii. Then, she returned to Legal Aid as a lawyer. “That’s when I got tapped to run for office by a former attorney who had gone from legal aid to politics,” she says. “It was unexpected as a female. I don’t come from a legacy of politicians.”
“Being a lawyer and then being a lawmaker is such a perfect pairing,” she says. “If you want to change a law as a lawyer, you must establish case law through the courts, and you’re looking at years to change a little tweak in the law. As a legislator, you can change a law in four and a half months. But as a lawyer, you actually know what it’s going to mean in practical terms. You’re the one who has to argue the law in front of a judge, so it’s good to have the two hand-in-hand.”
“I came out of CC feeling empowered and it bolstered me to feel like I could do the things that eventually led me to seek a law degree and then to seek political office.”
Maile Shimabukuro ’92
The idea to practice law transpired at CC, when the English Department sponsored a talk by alums who were lawyers. “I was an English major” she says. “They told us, ‘If you’re not sure what to do after college, one of the things English majors often do is law, because of the reading and researching.’ It planted a seed,” she says.
She was also influenced by the Feminist Movement at CC. “It was my first exposure to feminism, and it really stuck with me,” Shimabukuro says. “I came out of CC feeling empowered and it bolstered me to feel like I could do the things that eventually led me to seek a law degree and then to seek political office.”
“I wanted to be part of the Women’s Caucus in the Legislature, and there were several bills every year that I would push through that were inspired by the legal challenges of impoverished women, as well as being an empowered female myself,” Shimabukuro says. “I remember growing up in the eighties, for instance, and surfing was not for women. It was something that you, as the girlfriend, just sat there and watched your boyfriend surf. That’s the era I came from. There’s a lot of things women just didn’t do and didn’t question.” She took up surfing in grad school and continues the sport today.
Shimabukuro retired from the State Senate in May of 2024. She now works at Legal Aid, representing low-income clients in civil matters.