Maui Mayor Charmaine Tavares yesterday announced the appointments of Lori Tsuhako as director and Jo-Ann Ridao as deputy director of the Department of Housing and Human Concerns.

Both assume their new positions Wednesday.

Tsuhako is the department's current deputy director while Ridao serves as Tavares' senior executive assistant and housing commissioner .

Tsuhako, a Maui native and University of Hawai'i at Manoa graduate, has a master's degree, is a licensed social worker and has worked extensively with programs that provide services to children and families. She succeeds Vanessa Medeiros.

Ridao, also from Maui, is the former managing director for Lokahi Pacific, a non-profit organization which develops housing projects and provides loans to small businesses. Ridao, a graduate of the Weinberg Fellows Program, joined the Tavares administration in 2006 as the housing commissioner responsible for facilitating the implementation of the Residential Workforce Housing Policy.