Monique Ibarra resigned as chief executive officer of the Domestic Violence Action Center last week, according to a news release from a public relations firm representing the agency. 

Ibarra submitted her resignation to the board of directors on July 3, the same day a Civil Beat story ran highlighting staffing issues at the organization as well as the need for low-cost attorneys for domestic violence victims in the state. 

The news release cites “personal reasons” as Ibarra’s motive for stepping down. She could not be reached for comment. 

The public relations firm, TLC PR, said Laurie Tochiki, a Hawaiʻi family law attorney, would lead the organization in the interim until a permanent CEO is hired. 

The Domestic Violence Action Center provides legal services, advocacy and housing help to victims as well as runs support groups and educational programs. It also operates a domestic violence hotline that fields thousands of calls a year. 

Ibarra came on as CEO of the center in September 2023, replacing the organization’s founder and longtime leader, Nanci Kreidman. 

A few months later, staff attorneys at the organization began quitting. They said non-attorney staffers interfered in their cases, gave clients legal advice and divulged private information about survivors to others in the agency. By March 2024, all the attorneys had left. 

Civil Beat’s July 3 story detailed ongoing attorney shortages at the center. It currently has two staff attorneys, down from six, and works with contract attorneys to meet client demand. 

Tochiki is a lawyer herself and has practiced family law in the state for more than a decade, according to the press release. She is one of the founders of a family court program on Oʻahu called Kids First that educates parents about how divorce and separation can affect their children and promotes healthy co-parenting. 

She’s also the co-founder of EPIC ʻOhana, a network of more than 40 agencies aimed at improving outcomes for Native Hawaiian children in the child welfare system. She served as executive director of the organization until last year. Tochiki could not be reached for comment. 

Mike Lee, a former senior lead litigation attorney with the Domestic Violence Action Center who quit in February 2024, said he thinks she is a good choice to lead the organization.

“The fact that she’s an attorney, she’s handled family law cases in the past, she’s taught family law courses at the (University of Hawaiʻi) Richardson School of Law,” he said, “those are positives.”

For the organization to start recruiting more attorneys, Lee said, it will have to show that it’s undergone real change and has someone at the helm who understands that advocates can’t give legal advice or interfere in lawyers’ cases.

“Most of the family law bar knows that the advocates and the advocate management and supervisors are basically running wild there, so they’re not going to go there unless they can see a change in the leadership and culture at DVAC,” he said. “This is a hopeful beginning, but it’s only the beginning there.”

David Tumilowicz, chair of the center’s board of directors, said in a statement that Tochiki’s “depth of experience and commitment to our community ensure she is the right person to lead DVAC’s transition.” He did not respond to a message left at his office seeking comment.