HONOLULU — The board of the Hawaii Public Housing Authority has unanimously approved the appointment of a new executive director.
At a meeting this month, the board approved appointing Hakim Ouansafi to become the authority’s ninth director since 1997. He replaces Denise Wise who resigned in October for personal reasons.
The U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development also approved the selection.
Ouansafi is a Morocco native who moved to Hawaii from California. His experience includes being a hotel industry executive and serving as a consultant on commercial and housing development projects.
He’s the volunteer chairman of the Muslim Association of Hawaii and a volunteer board member for the Hawaii chapter of the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation.
The authority manages more than 6,000 public housing units at more than 80 sites statewide.
