Ulalia Woodside, a veteran of the conservation arena in the islands, has been selected as the next executive director of the Nature Conservancy of Hawaii, succeeding Suzanne Case, who departed in April to head the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The Nature Conservancy is Hawaii’s largest environmental nonprofit, overseeing about 40,000 acres in 14 preserves and running a marine program in 19 communities statewide.

The nonprofit, which works to protect the state’s best land and water, has helped conserve more than 200,000 acres in Hawaii since 1980, established a statewide system of preserves, created new U.S. Fish and Wildlife refuges and expanded national parks.

With an annual budget of about $11 million, the nonprofit and its 75 employees form the local chapter of the international nonprofit, which operates in 35 countries and has protected 120 million acres worldwide.

A search committee unanimously selected Woodside, out of more than 50 applicants, to succeed Case, who led the organization for about 14 years.

Board Chairman Chris Benjamin praised Woodside’s background in conservation, her expertise in Hawaiian culture and her relationships in the conservation sphere.

“So much of what we do in order to try to conserve land and marine resources is working with local communities and government agencies and other conservation groups,” he said. “Her ability to not only bring many of those relationships to the table and to continue to build relationships will be extremely valuable for us.”

Case, who doubles as Land Board chairwoman, described Woodside as an “exciting choice” for the position because of her extensive conservation and land management experience, her connections in the community and her familiarity with the issues that the Nature Conservancy is tackling.

“She’ll be able to have a broad reach in the community to carry out this work,” Case said. “I think she’s a great choice.”

Woodside, 46, currently director of natural and cultural resources at Kamehameha Schools, has worked 14 years with the Land Assets Division at Kamehameha, managing 200,000 acres of agricultural and conservation lands.

A graduate of the University of Hawaii in political science and Hawaiian studies, she is a trained kumu hula and has worked on various planning and land management positions in the private and public sectors, including as vice chairwoman of the Hawaii Conservation Alliance’s executive committee. She is a Land Board member.

“I am honored and excited to lead the Conservancy’s Hawaii program,” Woodside said in a statement. “I can think of no higher calling than protecting Hawaii’s natural environment.”

Case said there are numerous challenges to caring for Hawaii’s natural resources, such as climate change, invasive species and intensifying use of public resources.

“You need somebody with deep commitment, broad experience, talent, passion and the ability to tackle those one by one and come up with solutions,” Case said. “I think she’s very well qualified for that.”

Woodside is scheduled to start in mid-January.