Alumna’s Gift Will Help Others Follow the Spirit of Mālama Honua

Recently, Pace law alumna Leslie Morioka ’93 made an incredible choice. She decided to establish the Leslie Morioka, Esq. ’93 Endowment for the Elisabeth Haub School of Law, which will allow generations of Environmental Law students to participate in clinical programs and take on exciting and impactful projects at the nationally recognized Pace Energy and Climate Center.

This generous endowment will be made possible through a planned gift from Leslie’s estate.

Leslie is no stranger to philanthropy. For years, she has supported Haub Law through investment in the school’s number one-ranked environmental law program, contributions to the school’s emergency student support fund and dedicated service on a number of the school’s leadership committees.

This commitment to giving back was fostered while growing up in Hawaii, where Leslie was born and raised. Mālama Honua is Hawaiian for “taking care of Island Earth” and has always been a guiding principle for Leslie. Several years ago, Leslie helped organize a visit to the United Nations by the Hōkūle’a, a replica of a traditional Polynesian voyaging canoe, which docked in New York as part of the 2014-2017 Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage.

Her passion for conservation has been fundamental to Leslie’s active partnership with Haub Law and her work to ensure the school remains an international leader in environmental law research, policy development and education.

While attending Haub Law, Leslie had an experience that continues to motivate her to help future students. Leslie had the chance to work on a voting rights case against the City of New Rochelle. She felt fortunate that she was able to work with an outstanding professor who was also actively litigating in his chosen field.

This gave Leslie and her classmates the chance to not only learn theory but to put their classroom learning into practice in the real world. Her intention with the Leslie Morioka, Esq. ’93 Endowment for the Elisabeth Haub School of Law is to provide future Pace students experiential learning opportunities that were so memorable and formative for her.

The decision to establish a planned gift resulted from a family member’s encouragement.  Leslie’s younger sister urged her to prepare a will. After finally talking it through with her loved ones and ensuring that they were fine with a portion of her assets, Leslie decided to give a portion of her estate to Haub Law through a revocable trust. Her gift will come from liquidating her real estate assets, the proceeds from which will be directed to support experiential learning opportunities for students in the Environmental Law Program.

Leslie’s generous contribution is proof that cash gifts are not the only means to support the causes and institutions you care about most. Hers is just one example of the creative ways that donors can make an enduring difference while meeting their own estate planning goals.

When asked what she hoped the impact of her gift would be, Leslie said “to expand the horizons and imagination of the school.” Harkening back to the Polynesian explorers of thousands of years ago, Leslie described her admiration for their curiosity, their sense of adventure, their boldness.

Despite the fact they could not see past the horizon, they always sought what was beyond it, motivated by a drive to go forth and discover. Leslie said she hopes that her estate gift will help ensure that this sense of adventure and possibility is present in all those who attend the Elizabeth Haub School of Law, now and for years to come.