By Lana Smith-Hale, Assistant Ombuds at UCSB & Anthony Keen-Louie, Associate Ombuds at UCSC,

If you’ve been a part of the IOA community for a while, you probably have a good sense of what Ombuds Day is, and have found creative ways to recognize the day with your colleagues and constituents. But for the newer Ombuds or for the Ombuds who are looking to refresh their Ombuds Day practices, this blog post is for you! 

Ombuds Day grew out of the ABA Dispute Resolution Committee, which realized that the field needed to better understand the role of an Ombudsperson. So now, every second Thursday in October, we celebrate Ombuds by both connecting Ombuds with others in the Community (usually with a free webinar - link to sign up for this year’s event), as well as an opportunity to encourage each Ombuds to engage with their own constituents. IOA highlights this as an opportunity to understand the profession deeper and encourage greater awareness and use of the Ombuds services and programs.         

By Julie Muroff,
Ombuds Director - Howard Hughes Medical Institute/Janelia Research Campus

Last week, while serving as a guest moderator for the OmbudsLinked discussion forum on LinkedIn, I made a request to our ombuds community: to consider collectively launching #WellnessWednesdays. As ombuds, we may be navigating turmoil in our workplace and trauma in our visitors, on top of other tensions in our lives and in the world. Among other considerations, those circumstances can make us vulnerable to burnout syndrome, a work-related toll on emotional, physical, and mental wellbeing. That vulnerability has been highlighted by the global mental health crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Other fields, including medicine and law, have acknowledged those concerns and are promoting initiatives to address them.

Likewise, I have appreciated the attention to self-care that has been emphasized in our ombuds community, in particular during conference sessions and other gatherings, especially during the pandemic. While it is beyond the scope of ombuds practice to diagnose or treat mental health issues, I also have appreciated the attention to wellbeing by visitors in my casework, consistent with a recent survey of several academic ombuds offices in Texas. Given all above, I went back to school to bolster my toolkit of evidence-based strategies to advance the wellbeing of ombuds and our visitors, organizations, and field with a focus on interventions from positive psychology.

The DEIAB Committee announces the book for this quarter's Book Club: bell hooks' Feminism is for Everybody. bell hooks is one of America's foremost literary thinkers. She died in 2021, having produced an incredible mass of writings on race, feminism, class, and belonging. 

Feminism is for Everybody makes the case for a gender equality movement that is not about division, but is rooted in the wisdom of experience and common sense. Please join us at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET on Thursday, 5 December, for a discussion of the ideas in the book, feminism, and gender issues more broadly, and how we can promote gender equality as ombuds.

Even if you don't have time to read the book, please join us! Every IOA member and ombuds has ideas about gender and diversity that the rest of us are interested in hearing.

 The European Group of Ombuds and Mediation Representatives, a gathering of professionals from large European and international organizations is meeting at SAPs headquarter in Walldorf for their annual conference. This annual event offers a unique opportunity to come together, share best practices, and collaborate on the evolving role of Ombuds in today’s world. 

 "At SAP, we’re excited to not only share our own 15 years of experience as Ombuds in the IT and High-Tech sector, but also work with this group of professionals on topics like AI and tools and best practices in a series of Breakout Sessions throughout the 3-day event," says Carsten Pöschl, Global Ombudsperson at SAP.  At next week's gathering, attendees will dive into workshops, discussions, and explore how technology and innovation can support the Ombuds community in addressing todays and future challenges. A highlight will be welcoming Sarah Klaper, President of IOA and other Ombuds professionals on stage for panel discussions with the group of 60 experts expected from across Europe. 

IOA would like to extend our thanks to the European Ombuds and Mediator Group co-chairs Jutta Reitmeier at Mars and Diana Vermeul, at HarmoniKon and Carsten Pöschl and SAP for their sponsorship and support of this conference.   

Ombuds Dilemma: Should I stay or should I go?

I’ve been in my ombuds role for a year and would like to remain in this role for the foreseeable future. The president who hired me unexpectedly retired 6 months after I arrived and there have been significant transitions as a result. Just as I was starting to build relationships, leaders started exiting the organization – sometimes I look around the room at meetings and don’t recognize many of the faces. The president’s expanded cabinet (about 40 leaders) has been invited to a two-and-a-half-day retreat at a retreat center in the mountains, about 3 hours from where most of us live. This is the first ever off-site retreat for this group. Many of our activities will focus on planning for the future, and our new president has also been very clear that this retreat is an attempt to help the organization’s leaders get to know one another and build relationships. I’m included in this invitation as a direct report to the president. Should I stay or should I go?

Response 1: Mary Rowe, consulting ombuds

Welcome to “In Practice” a new column edited by a panel of experienced ombuds colleagues. 

Our goal in this column is to elevate ombuds practice by engaging practitioners from all sectors in the analysis and discussion of practice-related dilemmas for which IOA's Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice do not offer conclusive guidance.

Do you have a professional skill, practice, or interest that you would be willing to share with fellow Ombuds?

The IOA Professional Development Committee (PDC) is looking for members to facilitate webinars in 2025. We would love to hear from fresh voices, so we encourage you to submit a proposal even if you have never presented for IOA before!

For more information, visit the IOA Webinar/Seminar Proposal Form. or contact the PDC webinar committee chairs, Brooke Wichman ([email protected]) and Robynn Pease ([email protected] ) for more information.

The deadline for full consideration is November 1, 2024. We would love to hear from you!

July Webinar Recap: We were honored to have Dr. Nadia Ferrara present on "Cultural Humility," where she explored ways to incorporate cultural humility in our everyday lives to help promote a more inclusive workplace. Members can log into the Online Learning Center to watch the recording. Check out her recent blog post on Trauma-informed Ombudsry.

Upcoming Events: Save the date for the DEIAB sponsored webinar,"IOA Live: Compassionate Inquiry" on 12 December featuring the bestselling author and renowned speaker, Gabor Maté. 

Watch the video update below for recent IOA updates!

By Mary Rowe, Tim Hedeen, and Ellen Miller,

"The nature of relationships among the adults within a school has a greater influence on the character and quality of that school and on student accomplishments than anything else. ……..Our ability as adults to collaborate in service of the complex needs of the …. youth that we serve requires us to change our individual and collective relationship to conflict and learn to leverage our diversity in service of this work…." Gregory Abell

Many Organizational Ombuds (OOs) are asking how they can help serve their constituents and their organizational mission in times of high conflict. One of the options being pursued by some OOs, this summer of 2024, is to help all the conflict management personnel of their organization to work together in strategic planning—and to share their diverse skills, lived experience, values and wisdom, in service of the organizational mission. 

By Scott B. Cantor, Ph.D.
Ombuds and Professor, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer

There seems to be a specialized vocabulary for IOA members, with many acronyms and abbreviations.  With the goal of getting all ombuds to “speak the same language”, I have created a list of IOA terms and their definitions. 

As noted above, this is a sample of terms and acronyms that may be seen and not immediately recognized as a member of IOA. Please share others that come to mind in the comments below.

By Martina Peskoller-Fuchs
Ombudsperson, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), 

In the workplace, how we label and discuss issues can significantly impact their resolution. Terms like "conflict," "bullying," and "discrimination" carry strong connotations and can influence perceptions and outcomes. Understanding why people might avoid these terms and exploring alternative approaches can lead to more effective and empathetic problem-solving.

1)    Why People Avoid the Term "Conflict"

12, June 2024 

As you may have heard, Lindsay Jennings - our fabulous Managing Director and Vice President of Business Development at SBI Association Management – has accepted the position of Executive Director of the Orcas Island Community Foundation. This is a very exciting opportunity for Lindsay, as she will have a direct impact in the community she calls home. We find ourselves both celebrating for her and feeling very sad for IOA.  

Lindsay has been integral to the growth of IOA since 2018 and was on the transition team right from the start. She quickly learned all things IOA, devoted 50% of her time to IOA and beautifully managed her team at SBI to support us. She also helped shepherd two executive directors, which is no small task. We have all come to rely on her calm and wise demeanor, sage counsel, and authenticity. So, this will be hard.  

JIOA – Special Issue Announcement

Topic: Power, Politics, and Polarization

Submission Deadline: May 1^st, 2025

Organizational Ombuds, with their emphasis on conflict resolution, ethics, and systems, play a pivotal role in addressing challenges arising from power dynamics, political tensions, and societal polarization. In an era marked by the proliferation of misinformation, the erosion of trust in institutions, and the amplification of diverse voices, the ombuds profession stands at the forefront of navigating complex ethical and social issues.

This special issue aims to explore the multifaceted relationship between the ombuds field and the broader landscape of power, politics, and polarization. We invite submissions that critically examine topics such as:

From Steen Erik Larsen, Maersk Ombuds Function

The IOA Board asked the Research and Assessment Committee to take the lead in helping members understand how they can effectively use artificial intelligence (AI), including considerations/pitfalls to pay attention to when using AI. Ideally, the Independent Voice Blog, CommUnity, Good Day IOA Videos, conferences, webinars, and informal events (i.e. Community Connections) are platforms that could be leveraged for discussion and dissemination.

By now, we expect that most ombuds have heard of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”). Stories of Large Language Models (LLMs, such as ChatGPT) that can replicate human speech and writing (and code) with shocking speed and considerable accuracy seem to be everywhere. Generative AI programs, such as Midjourney and DALL-E can create extraordinary photorealistic images based on simple text prompts. Meanwhile, “Deep Learning” programs such as AlphaFold have already solved medical and scientific problems previously thought nearly impossible. We are in a new world–one that contains potential for extraordinary benefits and risks to ombuds practice. It is certain that AI will affect the work of Organizational Ombuds in fundamental ways. Already, many ombuds are using AI, such as using Microsoft CoPilot to draft documents and articles, or even just using AI-integrated search engines. Others may be exploring ways to use LLMs to enhance productivity, for instance using ChatGPT to draft emails, refine and edit documents, or create blog posts. These uses only scratch the surface of what AI has to offer to our field. Some
other possible uses include:

Practice Survey in Action: Mary’s Riffs on Organizational Ombuds Sources of Power and Influence, Values, and Effectiveness and the IOA Survey

Watch our recent webinar featuring Mary Rowe and the IOA Practice Survey Team discussing why and how the IOA survey has been helpful to individual organizational ombuds and the profession. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Practice Survey. Results will be announced later this year. 

By Lana Smith-Hale, LCSW,
Assistant Ombuds, UC Santa Barbara,

As a self-proclaimed extrovert, I am still surprisingly nervous about going into a new space filled with colleagues I have never met. And as the only member of my team who attended the conference this year, I was nervously looking forward to what lay ahead. I am an Ombuds in Higher Education and am familiar with attending conferences in this sector; yet as an Ombuds with one year of experience, I felt the pressure with this experience to cement my belief if this was the right field for me. Spoiler alert- it is! Here are the three main takeaways I’d like to share from my time at IOA Indy:

1. When I arrived late at night, I was surprised at the friendliness of fellow conference-goers that started right away. Even at 11 am, after a long day of travel, someone introduced themselves at the elevator and shared their excitement for elements of the conference. I was delighted to see the friendly face of Paul Sotoudeh whose warm welcome helped ease my worries that this was going to be a fun experience. From there, the friendliness of colleagues connecting was infectious. People were very eager to connect one person to another: "Have you met my friend from XYZ?" "You would love to talk to so-and-so from ABC". The accessibility, warmth, and down-to-earthness of meeting the giants in the field like Chuck Howard and Ellen Miller, to hearing Mary Rowe in sessions felt comfortable and kind. Having lunch with my IOA Mentor, Kathie Greenwood, in person was another big highlight. So be prepared, that even if you are not an extrovert and don't know many folks attending, you will be surrounded by friendly folks, eager to connect with old and new ombuddies alike.
   
   
2. The conference structure involved keynotes and breakout sessions that included an effort to pump folks up for the challenging work we do and give hope in times that feel extra challenging globally. What makes the IOA conference unique in my opinion is the diversity of ideas, thoughts, professions, and education of attendees. I loved learning about different organizations that have ombuds (yay to the US Air Force Academy) and was inspired by many sessions that helped me think in new ways of how culture affects not only our participants’ experiences but my practice as an Ombuds (shout out to Neal Powless). I felt challenged and invigorated by this experience and that the conference's mission to inspire was done.
   
   
3. Indiana’s motto is the “Crossroads of America”, and to me, this appropriately fits as being my first experience at my Crossroads as an Ombuds. The global attendees were a huge highlight and were so impressive to me. I delighted in the shared knowledge exchanged and efforts to understand the challenges faced by Ombuds around the world. I enjoyed Qinhui Jiang’s session but loved, even more, how folks lined up to share their connection to Kenya with him!

My experience at the 19th Annual IOA conference in Indiana was full of excitement, knowledge, and friendships - I hope to see you at the next one!

IOA was handed a big win today!  Revisions to Title IX were released Friday, 19 April and IOA is thrilled to see the US Department of Education's inclusion of Organizational Ombuds as employees who may be designated as confidential employees for Title IX purposes.  

Since 2012, IOA has actively commented on proposed regulations and other guidance that addresses both Title IX and Clery Act. In 2022, we upped our game. In May 2022, we participated in an Executive Order (EO) 12866 Meeting on Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities to begin planning seeds.  In the Fall of 2022, we filed comments on the formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposal to changes in Title IX. Post filing, we spent several months lobbying US Members of Congress involved in education and safety committees. This resulted in a bipartisan letter that was sent to the Department of Education, supporting our position that Organizational Ombuds may be designated as confidential employees.  

Some Sections from the Commentary: