Rhea Suh, an assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, will become president of the Natural Resources Defense Council in January.

Suh was in Hawaii this summer to preside over meetings exploring the possibility of re-establishing a government-to-government relationship with Native Hawaiians.

"It has been an unparalleled privilege to work for the president and interior secretaries," Suh said in an announcement by the council in New York.

Suh had been assistant secretary for policy, management and budget at the Interior Department. She was also nominated by President Barack Obama to head the Fish and Wildlife Service, but her nomination stalled in the Senate due to Republican opposition.

"Rhea has the tenacity and talent to help our movement win on climate change," said Frances Beinecke, who is retiring as president of the Natural Resources Defense Council after 40 years with the organization. "She understands that this is the greatest environmental, health and economic threat of our time, and she understands that this is the moment we can turn the tide."

The nonprofit environmental group with 1.4 million members says it works to protect the world’s natural resources and public health.

"The Natural Resources Defense Council has selected a great leader to command the organization," Kamana‘opono Crabbe, CEO of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, said in a statement Thursday. "Even with the range of challenges that were in front of her, Rhea always exhibited tremendous character, fortitude and compassion for those impacted by injustice."