(BIVN) – Hawaiʻi island native and former U.S. Congressman Kaialiʻi Kahele is not only a newly elected Trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, he is now the chair of the board.

The OHA Board of Trustees voted this week to elect Kahele as board chair, succeeding Trustee Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey who has served as chair for the past four years.

“I am both humbled and honored that my fellow trustees have placed their trust and confidence in me to lead the board,” said Chair Kahele in an OHA news release. “I look forward to leading transparently and in collaboration with the board, staff, community and our beneficiaries. Together, we at OHA will commit our efforts to improving the lives of our Native Hawaiian beneficiaries with the energy and passion our people deserve.”

From the OHA news release:

Kahele is a Native Hawaiian from Miloliʻi, South Kona on Hawaiʻi Island. He graduated from Hilo High School in 1992, attended Hawaiʻi Community College and UH-Hilo. Kahele earned a BS in Education from UH Mānoa, where he balanced life as an NCAA Division-I student-athlete and UH Rainbow Warriors Men’s Volleyball Team member. Kahele also earned a MS in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College this past summer.

Kahele is a combat veteran, pilot, and commissioned officer in the Hawaiʻi Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force. He is also a commercial pilot for Hawaiian Airlines.

In 2016, Governor David Ige appointed Kahele to the Hawaiʻi State Senate for District 1 following the unexpected death of his father, the late Senator Gil Kahele. During his tenure as a state senator, Kahele served as the Majority Whip, Majority Floor Leader, and Chair of the Committees on Higher Education and Water and Land.

In 2020, he was elected to represent Hawaiʻi’s 2nd Congressional District in Washington, D.C., in the 117th Congress.

As the trustee representing Hawaiʻi Island, Kahele resides in Hilo with his wife Maria and their daughters.

“This is an exciting time for the agency, and I look forward to working with Chair Kahele and the entire board addressing the challenges within our Hawaiian communities as well as seizing innovative and transformational opportunities to better serve our beneficiaries,” said Stacy Kealohalani Ferreira, OHA Ka Pouhana/Chief Executive Officer.

photo courtesy OHA

The board today also selected Trustee Keoni Souza as board vice-chair.

The Honorable Todd Eddins, an associate justice on the Hawaiʻi State Supreme Court, administered the Oath of Office to the newly elected and reelected OHA trustees prior to today’s Board of Trustees meeting. In addition to Kahele, At-Large Trustee Keliʻi Akina, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi Trustee Luana Alapa, Kauaʻi & Niʻihau Trustee Dan Ahuna were sworn into office.