Sol Kaho'ohalahala, executive director of the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission, will retire Jan. 1. He has been in the post since January 2005.

Commission chairman Dr. Noa Emmett Aluli said Kaho'ohalahala expanded the agency's volunteer base, developed culturally based science and math curricula for schools statewide and initiated a move toward energy sustainability for operations on Kaho'olawe.

A transition team will be headed by interim executive director Michele McLean, interim deputy executive director Ka'onohi Lee, senior policy adviser Ray "Kala" Enos and deputy attorney general Rowena Somerville.