Ryan Mello

District 4, Council Chair 

Serving downtown Tacoma, Hilltop, Central and South Tacoma, and the cities of Fircrest and University Place.

Ryan Mello serves on the Pierce County Council, representing District 4 which is made up of the communities of downtown Tacoma, Hilltop, Central and South Tacoma along with the cities of Fircrest and University Place. He was elected in a unanimous vote of his peers to Chair the County Council in 2023. In addition, Mello chairs the Council’s Rules and Operations Committee, Community Development Committee and serves as a member on the Health and Human Services Committee and the Public Safety Committee.

Born in Kailua, Hawaii, Mello moved to Tacoma in 1997 to attend the University of Puget Sound where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics & Government. Fresh out of college he joined the AmeriCorps program (the domestic Peace Corps) where he coordinated the Youth United program at the United Way of Pierce County – engaging youth to a lifelong ethic of giving back.

As Executive Director of the Pierce Conservation District from 2012 to 2020 he led a team of conservation professionals committed to protecting our natural resources, Puget Sound recovery and improving our local food security.

Mello served on the Tacoma City Council from 2010 to 2019 and was Chair of the Infrastructure, Planning & Sustainability Committee, led the Puget Sound Regional Council’s Growth Management Policy Board and the Pierce County Flood Control Zone District Advisory Committee. He also served on the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency Board of Directors and Pierce Transit Board of Commissioners, among other assignments.

Mello currently serves on the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation Board of Directors, was a founding board member of Equal Rights Washington and previously was on the Transportation Choices Coalition Board of Directors.

In 2005, he was elected citywide to the MetroParks Tacoma Board of Commissioners.

Mello and his partner live in the Theater District of Tacoma and enjoy supporting local sports teams, local small businesses, the arts and hiking

Read Councilmember Mello's full bio.