Engaging Visitors: The Vital Functions of Ombuds Office Websites
15 October 2025
10:00-11:15 AM PT / 1:00-2:15 PM ET / 7:00-8:15 PM CET
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Registration
- IOA Members: Free
Member registration includes access to the live webinar and the entire library of on-demand recordings.
- Non-Members: $250 USD per webinar
Non-member registration does not include access to the recording. Become a Member Today!
About the Course
This webinar will review the results of an extensive survey of Ombuds websites in higher education and engage participants in a discussion of best practices for website design. The websites of Ombuds offices frequently serve as the first point of contact for prospective visitors seeking the Ombuds services. Little has been known about the types of information available on these websites. This webinar session intends to create a forum for discussing how higher education Ombuds offices commonly organize and present information on their websites with a specific focus on the following elements:
- Ombuds office structures and organizational placement;
- Number, names and backgrounds of Ombuds; (
- Key constituents served (e.g., students, faculty, staff);
- Types of services offered (e.g., confidential consultations, facilitation of conversations, referrals, etc.);
- Clarification of what Ombuds do or do not do; (f) method of referring to the IOA Standards of Practices and Code of Ethics;
- Inclusion of the Ombuds Office charters;
- Availability of annual reports;
- Resources, such as institutional policies, tips and strategies for managing interpersonal conflict, etc.; and
- Instruction on how to contact an Ombuds.
Our team of three established Ombuds, an Ombuds coordinator, and a conflict management specialist from three institutions reviewed 160 websites identified from approximately 500 U.S. and Canadian higher education Ombuds offices. The categories of information listed above were extracted for examining the main trends and best practices in the reviewed websites.
Learning Objectives
After participating in this webinar, participants will be better able to:
- Describe the main roles and functions of Ombuds office websites in higher education.
- Apply best practices to organizing and presenting information on websites for prospective Ombuds office visitors.
- Identify opportunities for inter-institutional collaboration on website content sharing for time and cost efficiency.
Professional Development Hours
This course has been submitted for 1 PDH pending approval.
About the Instructor
Sara Kim, PhD, Conflict Management Specialist
Sara Kim, Research Professor of Surgery, received her PhD in Education in 1999 from University of Washington (UW), Seattle, Washington. Currently, she serves as Associate Dean for Educational Quality Improvement, School of Medicine, University of Washington. Dr. Kim is the inaugural holder of the George G. B. Bilsten Professorship in the Art of Communication with Peers and Patients. She actively leads research programs in conflict management and collaborates with a wide range of clinical, administrative, and educational stakeholders across UW Medicine. Since 2014, she and her team have developed training programs and taught over 10,000 healthcare professionals conflict dialogue and speaking up skills. She has numerous peer-reviewed publications in leading medical education and medical specialty journals, covering topics of communication skills for resolving conflict and negotiating power hierarchy. As a certified coach for emerging and established leaders, Dr. Kim partners with the UW Office of Ombuds and serves as a coach in Opportunities in Leadership Program. Lastly, she regularly volunteers as a mediator at the King County Dispute Resolution Center in the State of Washington.
Heidi von Harscher, PhD, FICPP, Assistant Dean of Professionalism
Heidi von Harscher, PhD, FICPP is the student Ombuds; Assistant Dean of Professionalism, and Associate Professor at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University in Miami, Florida. A licensed clinical (neuro) psychologist by training she has spent much of her career assisting students and interns to develop and grow in and outside of the medical curriculum. Dr. von Harscher is passionate about spirituality, wellness, professionalism, systems, passion fatigue, and mindful awareness as is evidenced by her research on burnout, empathy, and resilience. In her next professional chapter, she is very interested in examining and facilitating professional wellness for Ombuds.
Tom Kosakowski, University Ombuds
Tom A. Kosakowski is the University Ombuds for the University of Southern California’s Health Sciences Campus. He provides ombuds services to faculty, staff, and students at five academic schools and a health system that includes seven teaching hospitals, clinics, and research facilities. Prior to establishing the office at USC in 2019, Tom served in a similar capacity as the Ombuds for the Health System at UCLA for 12 years. He also established the Ombuds Office at Claremont Graduate University and served as the Campus Ombuds at UC Riverside. He trained as a mediator with the LA County Bar Association and mediated cases for the LA Superior Court. Tom is an active member of the International Ombuds Association and served on its Board of Directors, including a term as President. He regularly teaches new ombuds as a “Foundations” instructor for IOA. Tom also publishes “The Ombuds Blog,” an independent news site for the organizational ombuds profession. This is Tom’s third career; he worked as an economist and attorney before becoming an ombuds in 2007. He graduated from Occidental College and earned his JD from Loyola Law School Los Angeles.
Maggie Counihan, Ombuds Coordinator
Maggie Counihan is the Ombuds Coordinator at the University of Washington a role she’s held since 2022. She is often a first point of contact for visitors to the office and helps with logistics for three Ombuds, and a Faculty Liaison program. Maggie has a MS in Conflict & Dispute Resolution from the University of Oregon and completed mediation training through the Dispute Resolution Center of Thurston County in 2016. She has prior experience with large group facilitation for contentious public issues with The Ruckelshaus Center. Prior to working in the conflict resolution field, she worked in habitat restoration and conservation.
Closed Captioning and Languages for Online Webinars & Meetings
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This course is presented in English. Captions are available in English by default. Individual participants may choose to see their captions translated into one of the following languages: Arabic, Bangla (beta), Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Czech, Danish (beta), Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French (France), German, Hebrew (beta), Hindi (beta), Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian (beta), Polish, Portuguese, Romanian (beta), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil (beta), Turkish, Ukrainian, or Vietnamese.
IOA Online Learning & Virtual Event Policies
Webinar Cancellation Policy:
Notification of cancellation must be submitted in writing via email to [email protected]. All cancellation requests received 21 days in advance of the event start date, will be issued a refund less a $10 USD processing fee. No refunds will be given thereafter except in the event of extenuating circumstances. Requests for registration cancellation must be submitted in writing via email to [email protected].
Substitute attendees will be permitted. Substitution requests must be in writing via email to [email protected] no later than two days before the event's start date. If you have any questions, please contact the office at [email protected].
Nonpayment Policy:
Full payment of registration fees is required 7 days before the start of a course. If payment is not made prior to the start of the course, event details will not be released to you and your registration may be canceled. The IOA office will contact registered individuals with a balance due before canceling their registration. If you have any questions, please contact the office at [email protected] or by phone at +1-206-209-5275.
Subject to Change or Cancellation:
All IOA Courses are subject to change and/or cancellation.
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Recording Acknowledgement:
Each virtual session may be recorded. These recordings may be provided for later viewing and may be used for promotional purposes, advertising, and other print and online materials at the sole discretion of IOA. By registering for a virtual session you consent to be recorded by IOA when attending live sessions.
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