The Voice

Bromley’s involvement with the Joyful Heart Foundation led to her executive producing the HBO documentary, I Am Evidence, for which she won an Emmy. Through the Bromley Foundation, Lauran is able to help organizations such as Honolulu Museum of Art, Bishop Museum, Hawai‘i Foodbank, RYSE Hawai‘i and her alma mater, La Pietra Hawai‘i School for Girls (photos courtesy Lauran Bromley, Ho‘ola Na Pua and HBO Films).

THE BROMLEY FOUNDATION RECENTLY GAVE $2 MILLION TO HŌʻOLA NĀ PUA.

That’s the story, yes—but only a fraction of it.

“My interest in sex trafficking is based on my interest in domestic violence and child abuse,” explains Lauran Bromley.

It begins, she says, with actress Mariska Hargitay and her personal project, Joyful Heart Foundation.

“We found out there’s a huge rape kit backlog where police departments have not tested rape kits, and the victims wait, and they weren’t going anywhere. So what Mariska did was gather up a few of her friends who she thought would be interested in making a documentary—and I was one of them, and I became an executive producer for a documentary, I Am Evidence, that HBO ended up buying.”

Bromley later was asked by Hargitay if she could assist in restructuring Joyful Heart Foundation, and she has served as managing director there for two years.

“I started to see an injustice for people who couldn’t have a voice, couldn’t singlehandedly ask what’s happening with their rape kit. It had to be a consortium of foundations pushing behind it.”

Through Bromley’s work, she was at one point introduced to Jessica Munoz, founder of Hōʻola Nā Pua, which focuses on ending sex trafficking in Hawai‘i and supporting its victims.

“We had looked at sex trafficking in Cambodia and the injustice of that ... The person I was getting involved with, her husband said to us: ‘Why the hell are you going to Cambodia? It’s happening right here in Hawai‘i.’”

So, Bromley pivoted.

“I am attracted to the injustice that a single person can’t do it on their own. It takes a village to fix a problem. I talked to Jessica and believed in her work,” she says.

The Bromley Foundation gave $2 million to Hōʻola Nā Pua to name the Bromley Family Pearl Haven Campus, a residential facility that will house approximately 32 girls as they recover from the sex-trafficking system and learn to re-enter the real world. The campus is projected to open in early 2021.

One could argue that that alone is plenty for The Bromley Foundation to focus on. Of course, the foundation has bigger sights.

“Our overall goal: We believe in education and in helping out in anyway we can. We believe in cultural arts that would not survive without foundation money. We believe in helping rescue animals,” Bromley throws out.

The list of Oʻahu organizations that have benefited from Bromley Foundation donations at one point or another is considerable: La Pietra Hawaiʻi School for Girls (Bromley’s alma mater) and other private schools, Bishop Museum, Honolulu Museum of Art, Hawai‘i Foodbank, RYSE Hawai‘i , Hawaiian Humane Society and more.

“Private schools—if you’re Punahou or ʻIolani—are struggling for students, and I don’t know if it was the baby boomer era where a lot of these private schools were founded, but certainly now from what I see being on the board of La Pietra, they need an injection of cash or students via financial aid,” Bromley explains.

“The Bromley Foundation believes education is the answer to ending third-world issues. The world could pull out of poverty areas.”

Perhaps, in the end, one could say that The Bromley Foundation is about highlighting all those little voices— one sexual assault survivor, one sex trafficking victim, one student who got a scholarship when she needed it most—and amplifying them, creating a chorus of voices, and forming a village that can accomplish the things that once seemed impossible.