Mari Kishimoto Doi is a trained mediator, and family law attorney. Prior to joining Family Mediation Hawaii, Mari practiced exclusively in family law litigation for 13 years where she handled all areas of family law including divorce, custody, child support, guardianship and adoptions appearing regularly in Family Courts throughout the State and in the Child Support Enforcement Agency. During her practice, Mari recognized the value of mediation and assisting families toward creating a sustainable resolution to fit their family and prevent further litigation. 

Mari is originally from Hilo on the Big Island. She earned a B.A. from the University of Hawaii at Manoa majoring in political science and later earned her J.D. from the William S. Richardson School of Law. Following law school, she served as a law clerk to The Honorable Derrick H.M. Chan (Ret.). 

Mari’s mediation training includes Pepperdine Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and Mediation Center of the Pacific Basic and Advanced training, and Mediation and Conflict Management Master Class. Mari is a member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), the Permanent Committee on Family Court Rules, and the Family Law, and Alternative Dispute Resolution of the Hawai'i State Bar Association. She serves as secretary of the Child Law Section and as a board member of the William S. Richardson School of Law Alumni Association. 

Mari has served as Voluntary Settlement Master for the Family Court of the First Circuit. She also volunteers with the Kapolei Access to Justice Room, Hawai'i State Bar Association, and Volunteer Legal Services of Hawai'i. Mari has been recognized for her pro bono service by the Hawaii Access to Justice Commission since 2014. Mari was a presenter at the 2022 Hawaii State Bar Convention, the 2022 and 2023 Hawaii All Military Legal Assistance Conference, and the 2022 Hawaii Behavioral Health and Wellness Conference. Mari participates in family law mediation and negotiation exercises at the William S. Richardson School of Law and presents on panel discussions at the law school. Mari was named to the Super Lawyer's 2016-2019 Hawai'i Rising Stars List.

Mari spends her free time running, chasing after her daughter (and husband), and trying to keep her house plants alive. 

Leslie Ching Allen specializes in helping families transition through life’s challenges. As a mediator and former family law attorney, Leslie mediates issues involving divorce, property division, time sharing and support. As a mother whose children were only 5½ and 11 when she separated and divorced, Leslie is well aware of the challenges faced by families facing divorce and paternity disputes. She believes the best outcomes for all family members are achieved through mutual respect, and cooperation.

Leslie was born and raised in Honolulu. She earned her B.A. (Economics with Honors) and J.D. from University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. She is a member of the Hawaii State Bar (admitted 1982) and the Washington State Bar Association (admitted 1984). After law school, she clerked for the late Justice Keith M. Callow at the Washington State Court of Appeals (Division I in Seattle), followed by 10 years of complex commercial litigation. She was a Disciplinary Counsel for the Washington State Bar Association for nearly 18 years. After her youngest child graduated from high school in 2012, Leslie returned to Honolulu to be closer to her aging mother. She is a resident of Kailua, Hawaii.

Leslie practiced as a family law litigator in Honolulu for 8 years, where she represented clients in civilian and military divorces (property and pension divisions, alimony, child support and time-sharing), paternity (child custody and child support), and guardianship. She retired from actively practicing law in 2021, joining Family Mediation Hawaii in 2022.

Kristin Oketani is a trained mediator with a specialized background in tax law. Prior to joining Family Mediation Hawaii, Kristin worked in Los Angeles, working with Mergers and Acquisition tax. She then returned home to Hawaii, applying her tax knowledge to individual and corporate tax matters.

Kristin found her passion in helping families transition through a difficult time and received mediation training from the Mediation Center of the Pacific. Kristin believes her background in taxation is helpful when guiding families through the intricacies of asset division.

She holds a B.A. from the University of Southern California, a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law, and an LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center. Kristin is a member of the New York Bar and the Hawaii State Bar.

Beyond her professional engagements, Kristin dedicates her time as a volunteer at the Mediation Center of the Pacific. She has also volunteered extensively with the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders coaching high school students through their leadership projects.

Amella Peña is a trained mediator and conflict resolution practitioner. Her passion for mediation sprouted while studying Intercultural Peacebuilding at Brigham Young University – Hawai’i in Lāʻie, O‘ahu. She received her BA in Intercultural Peacebuilding where she focused her studies on mediation and Pacific Island dispute resolution. She did close to 100 hours of mediation certification studying narrative mediation, cultural mediation, and Hivā Pacific model of mediation. In 2023, she worked with Hivā training high school students in Auckland, New Zealand to mediate.

She comes from a culturally mixed family including indigenous descent of Venezuela and european descent. Growing up with different cultures has broadened her perspective and helped her see how people can work together to collaborate through differences. 

In her free time she enjoys teaching yoga and mindfulness classes, spending time in nature, and surfing.

Amella is a strong believer that mediation can help people have difficult conversations in an amicable way. It can be a sustainable path to work through things and walk away with more healing and peace.