(BIVN) – The National Park Service has selected a superintendent for its two National Historical Parks on the Kona-side of Hawaiʻi island.

Paul Scolari will begin his new role in late October as the superintendent of Kaloko-Honokōhau and Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Parks.

From the National Park Service on Tuesday:

Scolari is a 29-year veteran of the NPS and has worked at numerous parks, including completing a six-month detail as acting superintendent of War in the Pacific National Historical Park and American Memorial Park in Guam and Saipan. He most recently served as superintendent of Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado and Utah.

“Paul’s academic background is in the study of Native peoples, and he has extensive professional experience working as a native liaison for the NPS,” said Acting Pacific West Regional Director Randy Lavasseur. “He is passionate about the native Hawaiian culture and has a solid track record of building partnerships with local communities and organizations.”

“I’m excited about gaining a new set of colleagues and working with them to fulfill the missions of Kaloko-Honokōhau and Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Parks, respectively,” said Scolari. “At the same time, I’m equally excited to meet, learn from and support the Native Hawaiian communities associated with the parks, so that together we can achieve the aspirations they have for these hallowed places.”

Scolari has held a variety of NPS positions within and outside the continental United States. He was chief of resource management and planning at a group of national parks in the San Francisco Bay Area. At Golden Gate National Recreation Area, he performed the duties of historian, American Indian liaison and historic preservation specialist. He worked as acting legislative affairs specialist in the Legislative and Congressional Affairs Office in Washington, D.C. and is also a graduate of the highly regarded Office of Personnel Management Leadership Development Program.

Scolari earned a Ph.D. in 2005 from the University of Pittsburgh, where he studied how American social groups create versions of American history through public monuments. He is married to wife Lynnette and together they have two daughters, Beatrix, 27, and Imogen, 21. In his free time, Scolari enjoys a variety of outdoor recreational activities – hiking and biking prominently. He hopes to return to outrigger canoe paddling, SCUBA diving and snorkeling in Hawai‘i, pursuits he began and did not get enough of while in Guam.

Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park encompasses 1,163 acres and was established for the preservation, interpretation, and perpetuation of traditional native Hawaiian activities and culture. The park demonstrates historic land use patterns and Hawaiian settlements as they were before the arrival of European explorers. For more information, visit the park’s website.  

Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park provides natural and cultural resources that Native Hawaiians define as heritage resources. It includes the Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau, royal grounds, the 1871 Trail, temple platforms, royal fishponds, sledding tracks (hōlua), and a historic Kiʻilae fishing village. The park protects one of the best-preserved Pu‘uhonua in the Hawaiian Islands, a sacred place of refuge that exemplifies the important role of the kapu system in governing Hawaiian society. For more information, visit the park’s website.