Gov. Josh Green announced Monday that Dawn Chang will retire as chairwoman of the Board of Land of Natural Resources and director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, effective July 1.

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Green appointed Hawaii Island native Ryan Kanaka‘ole to serve as chairman of the board and director of the department. Green has also appointed David Day to serve as first deputy, effective July 7.

Both are lawyers and their appointments are subject to state Senate approval, according to the governor’s office.

“Dawn Chang has dedicated her career to protecting Hawaii’s natural resources and serving the people of our state with integrity, compassion and unwavering commitment,” said Green in a statement. “Her leadership helped guide DLNR through some of the most challenging and consequential moments in recent history, from wildfire recovery efforts to strengthening stewardship of our lands, waters and cultural resources.”

Green described Kanaka‘ole and Day as “exceptional public servants who understand both the responsibility and the privilege of caring for Hawaii’s natural and cultural resources.”

“Ryan brings a strong connection to culture, community and place, while David offers sound legal judgment and a track record of environmental protection in over a decade of public service,” Green said. “Their combined leadership will strengthen DLNR’s ability to navigate challenges, advance critical initiatives and ensure these resources are protected for future generations.”

Kanaka‘ole, the current DLNR First Deputy, has served as acting chairman of BLNR and acting director of DLNR since December.

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Kanaka‘ole serves on the Advisory Committee for Military Leased Lands to advise the governor on cultural, natural and economic strategies regarding military leases. He has represented DLNR on the Maunakea Stewardship Oversight Authority, Board of Agriculture and Biosecurity, the Agribusiness Development Corporation Board and the Commission on Water Resource Management.

Before joining DLNR, Kanaka‘ole served as a deputy attorney general, as an attorney for the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. and the Maunakea Stewardship Oversight Authority. From 2017 to 2023, he was a deputy attorney general for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. In the state Office of the Auditor, he led and participated in performance audits of some of the state’s largest agencies, including DLNR.

Kanaka‘ole is from Wai‘ohinu in Ka‘u. He is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama and earned a bachelor’s in political science from the University of Hawaii at Hilo and a law degree, along with a certificate in Native Hawaiian Law, from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

He called his new position “an enormous responsibility, one I take very seriously.”

Day has served as special assistant to the attorney general, where he has implemented numerous special projects from the ground up and acted as the department’s chief liaison to the Legislature.

He represents the state as counsel in federal cases to protect the rights of immigrants in Hawaii and the state against federal funding cuts to important state programs such as Solar For All, which provides solar systems for low-income households and disadvantaged communities and the Disaster Case Management Program, which provides case management services to survivors of the 2023 Maui wildfires.

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Day is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Emory University School of Law.