Senate confirms new director of Department of Human Resources Development

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Hawaii Senate voted to confirm Gov. David Ige's pick for the director of the Department of Human Resources Development on Thursday.

The new director, Ryker Wada was deputy director of DHRD since December 2016, and was appointed director by Ige in January, following the retirement of then-director James Nishimoto.

Before working as deputy director of DHRD, he was the personnel regional officer for the Department of Education's Windward District. Before that, Wada was managing attorney for the Honolulu office of the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii.

"Ryker Wada has a long standing reputation of public service and a strong commitment to family and his team," said Senator Jill Tokuda in a news release.

"He has a positive vision of how the Department should serve our state and employees, and his confirmation as Director of DHRD represents a new opportunity for him to continue to apply his skills in service to the people of Hawaii."

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