Starting Monday, Dana Takahara-Dias will serve as director of the city Department of Customer Services.

Takahara-Dias replaces Jeff Coelho, who left the city to return to broadcasting.

"Dana Takahara-Dias will bring her leadership and experience from the front lines of the parks and enterprise services departments to bear on her new responsibilities on another customer-centric city agency," said Mayor Mufi Hannemann. "She is a very respected, capable, and dedicated administrator who's proven herself in a number of demanding fields, and I know she'll do an outstanding job in overseeing the operations of the Department of Customer Services."

"I'm excited about this opportunity and thank Mayor Hannemann for this vote of confidence in my abilities," said Takahara-Dias. "This is a step up in responsibility, but I know I'll be working with another great group of city employees and that's what I'm excited about."

Takahara-Dias is deputy director of the Department of Enterprise Services and previously was deputy of the Department of Parks and Recreation.

She was a basketball standout at University High School and Vince Goo's Rainbow Wahine squad at the University of Hawai'i.

Following her graduation from UH, she served as a teacher, girls basketball coach and athletic director at Moanalua High School.