Jenn Mahony is the President of the International Ombuds Association. She is the current Ombuds Office Director for Boston Children's Hospital, where she established the office in October 2021. Prior to that, Jenn was part of the Ombuds Team as an Associate Ombudsman at the National Institutes of Health from January 2020 to September 2021. Prior to that, she was the Director of Workplace Services (including Ombuds Services) at FairWay Resolution in New Zealand, where she established a significant outsourced ombuds program for many government sector clients. A certified mediator since 2000, Jenn has worked in the employment law and organizational development space since 2001.

Jenn has more than 20 years of experience in board governance in both the US and in New Zealand. She has a strong marketing and consulting background, and has worked in most ombuds sectors (government, corporate, international, non-profit) (outsourced ombuds as well as ombuds within an organization) (solo practitioner, member of a team, director of a team) (US and non-US).

Ellen Miller is the Executive Director of the International Ombuds Association. An advocate for organizational ombuds, Ellen speaks, writes, and educates policymakers on issues impacting the field. She is a collaborative, creative leader with more than 25 years of experience, including organizational management, program development, advocacy, stakeholder engagement, and strategic planning/positioning.

A trained mediator and facilitator, Ellen has a proven ability to develop and maintain strong, effective relationships to create sustainable solutions. Ellen is particularly recognized for her skills in assessing, prioritizing, and aligning organizational big-picture needs and working collaboratively to develop effective solutions.

Previously, Ellen served as Executive Director of the California Lawyers Foundation, and Associate Executive Director (Initiatives and External Relations) of the California Lawyers Association where she provided strategic direction and organizational development for a myriad of new programs and initiatives including DEI, access to justice, health and wellness, public education, and bar relations, and several foundational projects. Prior to joining CLF/CLA, she served as the Executive Director/CEO of the San Diego County Bar Association and as Section Director of the Section of Dispute Resolution at the American Bar Association.

An active volunteer herself, she is a past president of the National Association of Bar Executives and a member of the American Society of Association Executives. In her spare time, she loves to cook, travel, and play golf with her husband, and visit her daughter at Bryn Mawr College in Philadelphia, PA. She is based in the US in the Pacific Time Zone (San Diego, California), although she was born and raised in Toronto, Canada.

Donna Douglass Williams is Senior Director of the Ombuds Program at Pinterest, recently launched as one of the first Ombuds programs in the tech sector. Donna has over twenty-five years experience as an attorney, mediator, facilitator, trainer, consultant and organizational ombudsperson. Donna previously held the position of Ombudsperson for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland serving WHO and UNAIDS staff in global duty stations, led the Ombuds team at MD Anderson Cancer Center, and served as Ombuds at Georgia State University and UConn Health. In addition to her work at Pinterest, Donna is also a consultant ombudsperson for the United Nations Funds and Programmes, responsible for team facilitation and training global staff in several UN agencies, including UNICEF, UNDP, UN Women, and UNFPA. Donna is a graduate of Purdue University, and the King Hall School of Law at University of California, Davis.

Dr. Hector Escalante Meza is the University of California, Merced, Director of the Ombuds Office. Not that long ago, he was the inaugural ombuds for the University of the Pacific. He also serves as an ombuds consultant for non-profit companies. He comes from both a management and academic background. Escalante has developed new ombuds offices in both the academic and nonprofit sectors. Escalante holds a Doctor of Education and a Master of Fine Arts in creative non-fiction writing. He served as a college professor for many years before transitioning into academic administration. Escalante is a trained mediator, DISC profile facilitator, Crucial Conversations Trainer, 3 Practice Circle facilitator, and a conflict resolution professional. Escalante currently teaches a conflict and negotiation course at the University of the Pacific. As an Organizational Ombuds, he works with individuals and groups in an organization to explore and assist them in determining options to help resolve complex work-place conflicts.

Mijanoux Beauchamp is a values-driven leader and certified master and leadership coach with over 30 years of experience strengthening individual and organizational resilience across the public and private sectors. Since 2019, she has served as FINTRAC’s Organizational Ombudsperson, providing a safe, confidential, independent, impartial, and informal space for all employees—including senior executives—to raise concerns without fear of reprisal or stigma. By integrating coaching-based empowerment techniques into her ombuds practice, Mijanoux supports individual growth, leadership development, and cultural transformation. She is deeply committed to psychological safety, trust-building, open dialogue, mental health, and systemic fairness, and is a strong advocate for inclusive, respectful workplaces where everyone is valued and treated with dignity. Mijanoux is an active member of the Government of Canada’s Organizational Ombuds Council and Steering Committee, and the International Ombuds Association.

Lunch Keynote: Why Is It So Hard to Advocate for Our Roles? Imposter Syndrome and Ombuds

Since 1982 internationally-recognized expert on impostor syndrome and co-founder of Impostor Syndrome Institute, Dr. Valerie Young has delivered her Rethinking Impostor Syndrome™ program to hundreds of major corporations and universities around the world.

Nicholas Diehl

Melissa Broderick

Using Data from the Practice Survey and Your Survey to Support Your Advocacy

Mary P. Rowe, PhD is an Adjunct Professor of Negotiation and Conflict Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She served for almost 42 years as an organizational ombuds reporting directly to five presidents of MIT. Her articles and papers are freely accessible at https://mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu/mrowe/research/ and https://archivesspace.mit.edu/repositories/2/resources/1201.