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After graduating from Maui High School, she moved to California “to get a better education for my kid and escape domestic violence situation.” She received a two-year accreditation for ITT in computer science and Fashion and Sales at the Regional Occupational Program.

Jessica has dealt with the judicial system on multiple levels. Incarcerated in California, this experience taught her; “I wanted something different. The judicial system can sometimes help a person. I decided I wanted to get into Hawaiian homelands and live in my culture.” While incarcerated, she read the Bible and the Penal Code book front and back. I was able to file my own divorce papers. 

Returning to Maui in 1992, straight from the penitentiary she lived in Kula on family property. Housing insecure, she ended up in a tent and eventually living in her car. 

Working multiple jobs and loving her work as a tour operator, she teamed up with the nonprofit Share Your Mana and became an Advisory Committee member. She was deemed “a resource” by the Maui Council Affordable Housing Chair to give expert testimony on changing County codes to support a safe parking program.

Thanks to the leadership of the ACLU HI legal team, she was one of two plaintiffs to challenge the Maui County Administration on Sweeping Encampments and violating residents’ Civil Rights. In March 2024, the Hawai‘i Supreme Court rendered a favorable verdict acknowledging the County did violate our right to own property, to have a contested case hearing, and to have accurate communication offered on the process.

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These experiences inspired her to create the non-profit Share Your Mana (SYM) in 2017. The mission intertwines the housed and the unhoused community through speaking engagements and unique projects. The creation of the first of its kind Advocacy Committee with lived experience, SYM works to combat persistent myths with accurate, evidence-based education.  This boots on the ground approach gives her a unique understanding of the extreme struggles those marginalized face daily.  

This innovative advocacy mission helped drive the successful legal challenge for the ACLU, HI in December 2023 at the Hawai`i Supreme Court identifying civil rights violations. She is the coordinator for the women’s branch of Ka Ipu Ha`a, a weekly women’s mentoring group for those incarcerated in Maui County Correctional System. These complex projects restore dignity and respect to the population suffering from untreated mental illness, addiction and experiencing poverty.

A student at Upaya Institute and Zen Center studying chaplaincy and a bold champion of social innovation, her “can do” attitude comes from decades of listening and walking in others slippah’s to bring an unfiltered authenticity to each experience.  Her expertise provides insights often overlooked and unrecorded.

Having received the 2009 Maui United States Tennis Association Community Service Award for creating opportunities for those with disabilities, she has also been recognized as an innovator and has received numerous invitations to participate in diverse community educational panels.  Her participation with Maui Homeless Alliance, the Maui Disability Alliance, an appointed Hawai`i Public Housing Authority Board member, she embodies the belief that all individuals can thrive in a safe and sanitary living conditions.
Ms. Darcy received her BA in Psychology and Sociology from Rutgers University with a Certificate in Criminology. She has published numerous local articles, participates in public service media and education, and been featured in documentaries including West 47^th Street, a film which explores the harsh circumstances of those living with serious mental illness.  As the Employment Director at Fountain House in New York City she presented at International Conferences. Currently serving a three-year term on the Maui County Commission for Healing Solutions, her desire to integrate spiritual and evidence-based practices ensures every community member receives dignity, respect, and enjoyment.

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Directing Attorney at Law Foundation of Silicon Valley

Tristia went to law school to fight against the systems that create poverty and inequity. She has spent her legal career working for the liberation and dignity of all people, with a focus on ending the criminalization of homelessness. She began her legal career in the courts and jails as a public defender in Miami, and later as Senior Attorney at the National Homelessness Law Center. She is currently Directing Attorney of housing at the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley.

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