March 6, 2026
After 29 years at the University of Washington School of Social Work, Associate Teaching Professor Emeritus Stan De Mello retired at the conclusion of the 2025 Fall quarter. De Mello was a beloved and active member of the SSW faculty, teaching hundreds of students, serving as liaison with field instructors in the BASW and MSW programs and providing wise leadership in the Community-Centered Integrative Practice concentration.
De Mello served as a lecturer, field faculty member, the co-director of the Office of Field Education and was an active and enthusiastic presence on every committee he joined, including 10 years as the social work chair for the Annual Health Sciences MLK Award. De Mello has served on the boards of important local and national organizations such as the Chief Seattle Club, American Friends Service Committee and National Association of Social Workers.
De Mello immigrated to Canada from Kenya in 1973, earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1976 from the University of Toronto and was one of the original four teachers to teach in the first tribally controlled high school in Canada. This was the beginning of 50 years of sustained commitment to supporting Canada’s First Nations communities and the United States’ indigenous Native American communities.
As De Mello was completing his MSW and MPA program at Dalhousie University in 1983, he worked with The Union of Nova Scotia Indians in developing a socio-economic strategy for the 13 reservations in the province. Upon graduation, he was hired by the Alberta government as a social worker where he worked in child welfare with the Alexander Reserve, north of Edmonton and the Blood Tribe in Southern Alberta. His long association with the Blood Tribe resulted in being adopted by the Fox family and given a Blackfoot name, “Astainikhi” meaning “Coming Singer,” which he considers one of the greatest and most cherished honors of his life.
De Mello arrived at the UW School of Social Work in 1996 as a part-time lecturer and by 1998 was a full-time faculty member in the Office of Field Education. De Mello continued to maintain and nurture relationships with indigenous communities in Seattle and Canada throughout his time at UW and will now serve as the co-president of the Pacific Canada Heritage Museum of Migration in Vancouver, Canada.
The School of Social Work would like to thank Stan for his years of service and incalculable contributions to our school and community and we wish him well in this next chapter.