Paula Akana, anchor for KITV Island News and veteran broadcast journalist, was named executive director of Iolani Palace on Wednesday.

The board of directors for Friends of Iolani Palace chose her to succeed Kippen de Alba Chu, who left the position in January after 12 years. Akana will start on July 8.

“I’ve always loved the palace from the time I was little, and I’ve done a lot of stories at the palace,” she said. “It’s just such a special place that holds such a special part of Hawaii’s history.”

Akana, a Native Hawaiian who was born and raised in the state, said she is excited to work at the palace and hopes more people will visit, especially because so many people have not gone for years, if at all.

She said wants it to be “the people’s palace, just so that the people of Hawaii know it’s … not just this beautiful building they drive by.”

Akana will be leaving KITV, where she started working in 1983 as an intern and eventually became one of the main anchors.

“As a well-respected journalist and community leader, Paula brings with her a deep love of Hawaii, our history and our culture, and will be instrumental in helping us continue to promote our mission and share the stories of our monarchy and the Palace, here in Hawaii and around the world,” said Lissa Guild Eveleth, president of the board of directors.

In addition to graduating from Kamehameha Schools and the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in Hawaiian anthropology and archaeology, Akana is involved in local organizations including Ma‘o Farms and the Polynesian Voyaging Society.

Akana said she never thought she’d work at the palace. “It was never on my radar at all, but I know I loved the place,” she said.

KITV praised her and the work she’s done with the station.

“The diligence, passion and grace that Paula has brought to her job each and every day for the last 30-plus years is rare and special,” said Jason Hagiwara, KITV’s general manager. “While we will miss her, we are excited for her and wish her well in the next chapter of her journey.”

Come July 8, Akana will be working somewhere that isn’t KITV, but she said the station is where she grew up.

“I’ve run the gamut on different shows that I’ve worked on and different jobs that I’ve done in the newsroom,” she said. “So it’s definitely a big part of my life.”