Linda Mondy, esteemed AASW member and Foundation Fellow of the Australian College of Social Work, passed away on 19 August last year.

Linda was known to many of us as a social worker who was passionate about social justice. This was evident in the numerous areas in which she worked—for vulnerable children, healthcare staff and the wider public. She was caring, compassionate, patient and dedicated.

Linda’s career spanned more than 50 years. Her foray into the social work field occurred in the mid-1960s when she undertook a welfare clerk course at the United Nations in New York. Later, she trained in Manchester, practised in the London Borough of Lambeth, and then worked for over a decade with the Red Cross in Sydney, supporting Vietnamese adolescents. She later worked for Barnardos Australia and provided family mediation for the Catholic Welfare Agency and Interrelate.
During her time at Barnardos she co-developed and co-facilitated a therapeutic group intervention for families affected by domestic violence.

In 1997, Linda was awarded the Churchill Fellowship and in 2002, the Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation. She was a founding member of the Australian College of Social Work and in 2012 was made a Foundation Fellow.

From 2000 to 2015, Linda worked at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide, in the field of paediatrics and family support. She continued her association with the hospital for several years after her retirement. In 2015, Linda was made an honorary fellow of the hospital.

Linda’s strong commitment to ethical, values-driven practice and unwavering dedication to the betterment of children’s lives made her a powerful voice in the social work profession. Her ability to support and empower others was exceptional.

— by Karen Healy with support from Linda’s colleagues