Board Members

Sarah Kastelic is Alutiiq, an enrolled citizen of the Native Village of Ouzinkie, AK.

She was drawn to social work because of something her father taught her: “When you need help, help other people, and in doing that, you’ll always find the help that you need.” Her family was affected by the child welfare system, and that experience sparked a passion for advocacy.

Kastelic is a first-generation college student. She earned her bachelor’s in sociology with an emphasis in criminal justice from Goucher College in Baltimore, and went on to earn her master’s and PhD from the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, where she serves as adjunct faculty. She has authored numerous publications and won many awards, and is most proud to have received the American Express NGen Leadership Award from Independent Sector for nonprofit advocacy work she accomplished early in her career.

She began her career at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, as a child welfare specialist. Kastelic then led the National Congress of American Indians’ (NCAI) welfare reform program and was the founding director of NCAI’s Policy Research Center before joining the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) in Portland, OR. She has been with NICWA since 2011, serving as its executive director since 2015.

Kastelic is especially interested in the macro level of social work, understanding the levers of policy and power, and finding multiple pathways to accomplish things. Grounded in her Native values, she knows we are all interdependent and need each other, so she strives to bring together the right partners and allies and develop coalitions to generate effective outcomes. She has extensive experience with community-based participatory research, a type of research that’s in partnership with and guided by community, aligning with community values and honoring tribal sovereignty.

In addition to her position on the Northwest Area Foundation’s board, Kastelic serves on the boards of BoardSource, Brazelton Touchpoints Project, Children’s Funding Project, Generations United, and Native Ways Federation. Her goal in board service is to bring perspectives from Native communities and from the human services sector that may not already be present in the room and to emphasize the importance of culture, spirituality, and healing in the work that’s being done.

Kastelic values Alutiiq Elder Mary Peterson’s guidance to “take care of the Elder you will become.” Her ability to be of service to her community—to support young people in the future and provide what they need—is dependent on doing the things that she needs to do now to take care of herself, which she does by taking every opportunity to enjoy all the beautiful outdoors that Oregon offers and by being auntie to her five nieces and nephews.