By Shannon Lynn Burton, Ph.D.,
University Ombudsperson, Michigan State University

Over five years ago, I was asked to put together a presentation to discuss why I wanted to be Michigan State University’s next University Ombudsperson after having served as Assistant and Associate Ombudsperson. What follows is my ombuds journey adapted from that presentation. There, and here, while I do not present a chronological perspective, I do share the multiple contexts that I believe an ombuds must navigate: Theoretical; Historical; Social; Professional and the Personal.

Theoretical

For those that know me, they know I love discussing theory… but more than that, I like making it practical. Theory is often like a computer code running in the background. You don’t often see it running, but you know that it is. In terms of my own code, I pull from two traditions: dialogue, deliberation and public engagement, as well as andragogy. While understanding conflict is a key factor in being an ombuds, understanding student perspectives and growth are really at the heart of this office’s work. For me, these traditions inform both aspects of the office: “student” and “ombuds”. I focus on the democracy perspective in dialogue, deliberation and public engagement, as well as emancipatory learning from andragogy. These approaches have three concepts in common:

By Phyllis Coven,
Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman

My road to becoming an ombudsman was a long one and the more I learn about being an ombudsman, the more I see that it is really the culmination of my 30 years of public service working in the immigration arena.

My journey started when I worked as an attorney for the territory of American Samoa and later the California Department of Justice, where I was exposed to cases (both big and small) and how outcomes impact lives. I then was privileged to serve as a deputy associate attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice, working as the liaison to the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). My understanding of the complexities of operating the immigration system was deepened in my next job as director of international affairs at INS where I was responsible for asylum, refugee, and international office operations.

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By IOA

Updated March 2022

By Ion Anghel,
Director PetrOmbudsman Department, OMV Petrom

Greetings from Romania! My name is Ion Anghel and since 2018 am the head of the ombus office of OMV Petrom. Because I really believe in sharing experiences, I hope my story will inspire you. So, let’s begin…..

I'm an oil and gas engineer. I was and still am passionate about this profession and even now if I had to choose which college to attend, I would choose the same thing. I consider myself one of the lucky people who combined passion with work, and that allowed me to gain almost 33 years of experience with OMV Petrom (OMV Petrom is a Romanian integrated oil company, part of Austria's OMV company. It is one of the largest corporations in Romania and the largest oil and gas producer in Southeast Europe). I had the opportunity to go through various professional stages from executive positions to top management positions and to make some important choices in my career. 

By Abdul Hassan Sesay,

I was not the Ombudsman, but I had a passion for helping people in distress and I was able to utilize this when I worked as an investigator and later principal investigator in the office of the ombudsman Sierra Leone.

The question on how someone becomes an ombudsman varies from country to country and from organizations. With my experience in the office of a classical ombudsman, here are examples of what I found to be the process for appointment. When I visited the Justice Ombudsman’s Office in Stockholm, Sweden in 2011, I came to realize that there are two sets of ombudsmen in Sweden. The Justice Ombudsman is also called the parliamentary Ombudsman and he is elected by Parliament with a two third majority. You also have the executive ombudsman who is appointed by the prime minister. However, in most African countries the Ombudsman is appointed by the president and approved by parliament. I have not had the opportunity to work as an organizational ombudsman whose appointment might be different from those mentioned above.

By Kristine Paranica
University Ombuds - North Dakota State University

I was first introduced to Organizational Ombuds’ work during the years that I lead a community mediation center on another campus.  About 10 years ago, the faculty at that university had begun to petition to add the position of Ombuds.  In support of their effort, our Center helped to bring in the Ombuds at the University of Minnesota to educate the campus on the benefits of the Organizational Ombuds.  I found the presentations intriguing, though I was quite happy in my role directing the mediation center at the time, and so didn’t apply for this new position.   Unfortunately, the Administration did not take the role seriously, created road-blocks to confidentiality, and hired someone who had no experience in any of the skills required of an Ombuds.  They left after 9 months, ending hopes for an Ombuds.  

Three years later, our Center underwent budget cuts and Administration decided to gradually close the Center.  Shortly after we received that news, I was approached by North Dakota State University to apply for their first full-time Ombuds.  I was leery given my experience at the other university, so I asked many questions and realized that they had done their research and were doing this the right way.  I applied, and was offered the position. 

By Janie Tanner,

Greetings from Texas! I am Janie Tanner and I currently work as a part-time contractor supporting the Chevron Ombuds organization. Prior to retiring from Chevron in 2016, I was a full-time Ombudsman for three years. Chevron kept me around for a total of 39 years and even now, years later, I have this great part-time opportunity. I know that I am blessed.

Most of my Chevron work background was in the Human Resources function as an HR Generalist role (15 years) to provide day-to-day HR support to a client group or as the HR Manager (10 years) to supervise and mentor other HR professionals. The HR Generalist role sometimes meant managing employee issues and finding workable solutions between parties. Mid-career, I transferred into Chevron’s Employee Relations department (8 years) and my responsibilities included conducting interviews, investigations, mediation, and leading facilitated discussions to find agreeable and workable solutions. In each of these roles, I was able to help employees and found great satisfaction in providing that service and support. In some of the employee issues, I was contacted by a Chevron Ombudsman as a resource or for counsel and the position always intrigued me.