The Maui News - The Kaho‘olawe Island Reserve Commission (KIRC) announced last week the appointment of Michael Nahoopii as its new executive director. The 43-year-old chanter, lauhala weaver and former officer of a naval submarine home-ported at Pearl Harbor will implement the commission’s vision of Kaho‘olawe. A Kamehameha Schools and U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Nahoopii has served as naval officer in charge of the Kaho‘olawe Project; naval representative to the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana; and senior project manager for two unexploded-ordnance projects on Kaho‘olawe over a nine-year period. KIRC Chairman Dr. Emmett Aluli described Nahoopii as a “strong project manager” with an expertise in fund development and grants. “He is well connected and well respected in the Hawaiian community and by the Legislature and our congressional delegation,” Aluli said. In a recent interview with The Maui News, Nahoopii said his priorities in his new post are to establish long-term procedures in island operations; secure trust funding to protect the island’s future; and facilitate cooperation between the commission and the Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana.