The National Park Service (NPS) has selected Paul Scolari to serve as the superintendent of Kaloko-Honokohau and Pu‘uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Parks on the island of Hawaii. He will begin his new role in late October.
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-Honokohau and Pu‘uhonua o Honaunau 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 the 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 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 Hawaii, pursuits he began and did not get enough of while in Guam.