Mentoring Program

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IOA Online Application to Serve as a Mentor or to Request a Mentor

 

   
       

IOA Mentoring Program 

The International Ombudsman Association (IOA) makes the transition to ombudsing a positive and rewarding experience by connecting novice IOA members who are novice Ombudsman with an experienced IOA member Ombudsman for one year.  

Mentoring Program:
Mary Chavez-Rudolph, Chair
Carol Breslin
Vicky Brown
Melissa Connell
Claudia D’Albini
Dolores Gomez-Moran
Marvin Neal
Linda Wilcox
Donna Douglass Williams

Mission Statement:
To help make your transition to ombudsing a positive and rewarding experience by connecting a novice ombudsman with an experienced ombudsman. This personal relationship provides the new ombudsman an opportunity to have an ombudsman friend, to get assistance, and to discuss the profession.

Guidelines:
Mentors must be a practicing ombudsman with at least three years experience; mentees must be a practicing ombudsman with less than one year experience. For Mentees, we consider the type of organization you work for, the size, your constituents, and your geographic region when matching you to a Mentor.

Additional Goals:
Mentoring someone new to the profession offers the unique opportunity to reaffirm the core values of IOA and share experiences and lessons learned in the process. Feedback with types of questions, challenges, and assistance requested from Mentees is provided by the Mentoring Program to the IOA Professional Development Committee (PDC) to incorporate into training.

Duties of a Mentor:

  • The Mentor will contact the Mentee to introduce him/herself and explain the role of the Mentoring Program.
  • The Mentor will make plans to have consistent communication with the Mentee and set expectations depending upon the Mentee's availability and time commitment.
  • The Mentor will know, or find out, where to send the Mentee for specific resources.
  • The Mentor will share information about the IOA and will have a clear understanding of IOA Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics, and Best Practices.
  • The Mentor will make arrangements to meet the Mentee in person at IOA's Annual Conference.