Disaster Legal Response Overview and 101

Date/time:

Wednesday, February 25, 12pm-1:30pm

Location: 

In Person:

HSBA Conference Room

1100 Alakea Street, Suite 1000

Honolulu, HI 96813

Or

Live Webcast

Via your HSBA Account, "My Learning"

CLE Credits:

1.5 CLE Credits

Pricing: (Please see how to Register below)

$45 for HSBA Members: Live in Person or Live Webcast

*$55 for Non-Members: Live in Person or Live Webcast

*$0 for Law Students with HSBA Law Student Card

Parking:  

There is limited parking in our structure, but we do not validate parking. We recommend parking in Ali'i Place Parking Garage across the street from the district court. 

Materials will be emailed to you later towards the event.

Cancellation/Refunds: Cancellation requests must be received (in writing to cle@hsba.org or mail) by Wednesday, February 18, 2026, for a full refund. There will be no refunds for No-Shows.

Summary:

Our Disaster Legal Response CLE series kicks off with an overview of legal resources for attorneys who want to learn the basics about disaster legal response: including what triggers an emergency or disaster from the federal and state level, how to best assist individuals in crisis, and how to be best equipped to volunteer for your community when the need arises.

Moderator:

Catherine Betts

Cathy Betts currently serves as the Executive Director for the Hawaii State Bar Association, a role she took on in May 2024.

Prior to leading the HSBA, Ms. Betts served as the Director of the Hawai‘i Department of Human Services where she continued to further the department’s vision through her experience, advocacy, and commitment to helping the people of Hawaii. She served as the deputy director from 2017 through August 2020.

Prior to serving as deputy, she successfully lead the Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women for nearly six years and oversaw several legislative and policy successes including: the final passage of the Compassionate Care Act, which ensures rape victims have access to emergency contraception emergency rooms in Hawai‘i; various state Title IX reforms to ensure Hawaii continues to protect and preserve the late Congresswoman Patsy Mink's legacy; protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault; reforms for temporary restraining order process; and increased training on gender based violence. Betts has also practiced in government and private legal practice since 2006.

Betts earned her BA in Sociology from the University of California at Los Angeles and her juris doctorate from the University of Hawai‘i, William S. Richardson School of Law, where she served as the Patsy T. Mink Legislative Fellow in the late Senator Daniel K. Inouye's Washington D.C. office.

She also sits on the Committee on Equality and Access to the Courts. She formerly served on the Board of Directors for Hawaii Women Lawyers, Hawaii Women in Filmmaking, the National Association of Commissions for Women, and the Board of Directors for the Hawaii Filipino Lawyers Association. She previously chaired the HSBA Diversity, Equality, and the Law Committee (DEAL).

Betts was recognized as one of four YWCA Women's Leader Awardees in 2020. In February 2021, the Hawai‘i Women’s Legal Foundation presented Betts with the Rhoda Lewis Award in recognition of her extraordinary contribution and commitment to public service. Betts was also awarded the Soroptomist International Ruby Award for Central O’ahu in 2018 and was one of six grantees of the United States Department of Labor’s Paid Leave Analysis grants in 2016.

Speakers:

Jenny Anders-Gable:
Jennifer Anders-Gable has been a legal aid attorney at Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC) since 2012, she presently leads LSNC's elder and disaster law services, which in recent years has included delivering legal services and coordinating disaster legal response to wildfires, earthquakes, tsunami evacuations, bomb cyclones and various severe winter storm events. 

Since the devastating 2018 Camp Fire in Paradise, California, Jennifer has been an active participant and leader in California's Disaster Legal Assistance Collaborative (DLAC) . In both her LSNC and DLAC roles, Jennifer supports and leads disaster legal services at all stages of the disaster timeline. Jennifer routinely coordinates and provides disaster support along with numerous legal aid partners, pro bono attorneys, the California State Bar, local county bar associations, government entities, and other disaster partners at a local, state and national level. 

Jennifer has a degree in Women and Gender Studies from the University of California at Davis and law degree from University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.

Heidi Ho

Born and raised in Makawao, Maui, Heidi Ho grew up as the youngest child in a single-parent household. She knew in first grade that she wanted to be an attorney when her mother became a second career law student and her daycare was the UH law school library. It was Heidi’s unconventional childhood that instilled in her a profound dedication to uplifting Native communities, a commitment which has defined her professional journey.

Heidi graduated from the University of California at Irvine in 1992 with a degree in Social Ecology and a minor in Women’s Studies. Social Ecology is an interdisciplinary major focusing on the environment, social behavior, and legal studies. She later attended the University of San Francisco (USF) School of Law and graduated in 1997. While in law school, Heidi was a program coordinator of Kulia i Ka Pono at Kamehameha Schools (KS), a program that fostered leadership through Hawaiian values and cultures (working with 7th and 8th grade non-KS students). Heidi was then admitted as an attorney to the Bar in California, Massachusetts, and Hawaii.

Heidi began her community lawyering career at the Greater Boston Legal Services, where she worked as the Asian Battered Women’s project attorney in the Asian Outreach Unit. This work entailed representing clients in three different county courts in Massachusetts as well as filing immigration documents and proceedings including the Violence Against Women’s Act (VAWA). Heidi found that education within the community was vital to the success of the project. She would often do outreach at women’s shelters, local medical facilities and police stations.

For the past decade, Heidi has served as an assistant professor and co-director (now Director) of the Academic Support Program (ASP) at USF. She also sits on two non-profit boards in San Francisco which supports the most vulnerable residents: Public Advocates Inc. and Episcopal Community Services.

In response to the wildfires on Maui in August 2023, Heidi co-founded PONO Legal, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that offers free legal assistance to those impacted by the Maui fire. Rooted in Hawaiian values, PONO Legal is founded on four pillars: Community, Collaboration, Education and Policy. Heidi and her team have helped hundreds of people navigate insurance issues, FEMA appeals, SBA loans, rebuild permits, construction contracts and other legal hurdles to secure their rights. Checkout the website: PONOLegal.org 

Register:

HSBA Members: "Log In" (do not create a new account) to register online with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover.

HSBA members paying by check or prefer to use the form: Please download paper registration form and submit to the HSBA to register. Form of payment must be received with registration to process.

*Non-HSBA members: Please download paper registration form and submit to the HSBA to register. Form of payment must be received with registration to process.

*Law Students: You must have an HSBA student card; or if not, you may obtain one by going to HSBA Bar Card | HSBA Please download paper registration form and submit to the HSBA to register. 

ADA Accommodation: In Accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you require accommodation for a disability, please contact us by email at cle@hsba.org; or by phone at 537-1868 and ask for the CLE Department before purchasing the program.   

Questions? Please contact HSBA CLE Department at 537-1868 or CLE@hsba.org.