We recognize that many ombuds offices—both in the U.S. and around the world-are navigating budget constraints that can limit access to valuable professional development opportunities. In response, IOA is pleased to offer a limited number of supported registrations for current members to attend the 2025 September Symposium, taking place on 30 September.

If you no longer have access to professional development funding but would benefit from participating in the September Symposium, we encourage you to reach out to me by 1 September to express your interest.  

We especially welcome applications from our international colleagues.

Are you interested in helping to create Coursera course about the ombuds* profession, created in partnership with the University of Colorado Boulder. Produced by Liz Hill and Ken Skodacek, this free, on-demand course aims to promote global awareness and deepen understanding of the diverse roles ombuds play.

What’s in the Course?

Module 1: Introduction, history, and foundational elements.
Module 2: Public sector ombuds programs (e.g., classical, primarily external facing).
Module 3: Organizational ombuds (e.g., primarily internal facing, embedded or externally positioned/outsourced),
Module 4: Advocate ombuds, such as long-term care ombudsmen.
Module 5: Ombuds programs outside the U.S.
Module 6: Skills, careers, resources, and next steps.

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.

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.  

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. 

1. You can apply to teach IOA Foundations of the Organizational Ombuds, which is taught multiple times a year both virtually and in-person. In order to be eligible to teach Foundations, you need to have taken Foundations and to have served as a practicing Ombuds for at least three years. You also need to be currently practicing as an Ombuds to IOA standards and be an IOA member. Foundations instructors are offered $500 for their instruction or they can have access to credits to take another IOA course. To apply to be a Foundations instructor, please visit: Foundations Instructor Form
2. You can apply to present a Webinar. Webinars are presented virtually from 75 minutes to 3 hours and are recorded and posted to IOA’s Resources page. Instructors can present solo or as a group, and topics can vary. Webinar presenters are volunteering their time and do not receive payment for their presentations, but they are able to engage the entire IOA membership. Webinars are held on the third Thursday of the month at 9 AM Pacific, 12 PM Eastern. When applying, presenters should be prepared to provide the title, abstract, and learning objectives of their proposed webinar. To apply to be a Webinar presenter, please visit: Webinar Proposal Form
3. You can apply to teach a Core Course in a topic that matters to you and that you have expertise in. Core Courses are virtual courses from 3 to 12 hours (over one day or many). They will be offered live and recorded and posted to IOA’s Resources page. Instructors can present solo or as a group, and each team of Core Course instructors is paid $400 for their instruction. Core Courses do not have to be offered in English or during a time zone that works for North America, so international instructors are encouraged to apply. You can apply to teach a Core Course that has been offered before or propose a completely new course. The application asks for the title, description, outline, and proposed audience of your proposed course. To apply to teach a Core Course, please visit: Core Course Proposal

By Belinda M. Robinson, PhD
Associate Organizational Ombudsman - Federal Bureau of Investigation

For nearly six years, in conjunction with the American Bar Association’s Ombuds Day Committee, the Ombuds community is celebrated, recognized, and congratulated on the second Thursday of October, also known as Ombuds Day. This year, Ombuds Day is celebrated on Thursday, October 12. The theme for 2023 is Ombuds: Diverse in Role. United in Service.

Prior years’ themes have paid homage to the professionals who lead conflict resolution efforts and mediation services for organizations, large and small, and regardless of their internally or externally facing ombuds roles:

•  2022 – Ombuds: Resilience, Respect, Resolve
•  2021 – Ombuds: Exploring Options to Resolve Conflict Together
•  2020 and 2019 – Ombuds: Unusual Name. Important Service

Ombuds practitioners are often described as navigators who provide a beacon of light; giving employees, and often the public, hope that their problems can be resolved fairly and equitably.

The ABA Dispute Resolution Section is now accepting program proposals for our 2024 Spring Conference that will be held April 10–13, 2024, in San Diego, CA. This year’s conference theme is Mastering the Future: Revolutionizing Dispute Resolution in a Dynamic World.

We welcome program proposals from anyone who can enlighten and connect with our anticipated attendees, who include dispute resolution leaders, mediators, arbitrators, ombuds, judges, attorney advocates, court administrators, neutral providers, ADR consumers, and legal educators. The proposal deadline is September 13 at 5 p.m. ET, so now is your chance to bring your program idea to life!

We have some very sad news to share, on behalf of IOA member Jennifer Moumneh:

It is with great sadness that I’m writing to share the news that our team member and dear friend, Jared Lee, passed away unexpectedly last week.

Jared was a key member of UC Irvine’s Office of the Ombuds, a wonderful colleague, a rising star in the Organizational Ombuds profession, and an overall amazing human being.  He will be missed dearly.

Advocacy Committee Update:  

Our Advocacy Committee is hard at work preparing resources members can use across sectors to help advocate for ombuds offices in their organizations. These include:  

1) An IOA Organizational Engagement “Triage” Template

By Ashton Pittman, Mississippi Free Press (reposted with permission)

The University of Mississippi awarded Ombudsman Paul Caffera as one of 12 “outstanding staff members” at its May 30, 2023, Staff Appreciation Week Awards Ceremony. He fought the university in a lawsuit between 2020 and 2022 as he sought to maintain the confidentiality of employees who had sought his office’s services. Photo courtesy Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

The K-12 Ombuds field continues to steadily grow. Connecting with other K-12 Ombuds is an invaluable way to grow as a practitioner. If you are a practicing K-12 Ombuds and would like to connect, we have you covered.

First, the IOA Online CommUnity platform provides everyone with the ability to engage with, learn from, and share resources with other Ombuds. Once in the platform, under Groups, select "Groups by IOA Sectors" and then select the "Academic: Primary & Secondary Education K/12" group. As a group, we also meet monthly via Zoom and would love to have you join us.

To learn more about the group, please contact Monique Bookstein.

IOA Online CommUnity

Dear Ombuds Colleagues!

As many of you know, the International Ombuds Association (IOA) is publishing its first ombuds handbook The Organizational Ombuds: Foundations, Fundamentals, and its Future. Donna Buehler and Liz Hill are co-authoring a chapter discussing how organizational ombuds build relationships and engage with entities across organizations while maintaining their independence and impartiality. 

To accomplish this, Donna and Liz kindly request that you share your experience and complete their survey by Friday, May 12, 2023, at 12:00 a.m. 

The Journal of the International Ombuds Association

Special Issue Announcement 

Deanna Yuille Bandford and Bina Patel, seek participants for a project that explores Ombuds effectiveness at both the individual and programmatic level. Their research will be incorporated into a chapter for the International Ombuds Association’s first book, The Organizational Ombuds: Foundations, Fundamentals & Its Future. 

Participants are invited to share their personal perspectives via a survey or one-on-one interviews. The anonymous Ombuds Origins survey is here: 

https://qfreeaccountssjc1.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8hJ12M5XGmKEmxg.

After extensive input from IOA members and other participants, we are pleased to announce the pilot of IOA’s new Organizational Values and Community Norms that will go into effect 22 March 2023. We also invite member input on a proposed IOA Concern and Complaint Policy and Concern and Complaint Procedures.   

Good Day IOA

Organizational Values and Community Norms

By Shannon Lynn Burton, PhD
University Ombudsperson, Michigan State University

Dear Ombuds Colleagues,

I am writing to solicit articles for the September 2023 Just Resolutions e-newsletter. This edition centers on the work of ombuds and it would be wonderful if we had several individuals interested in writing!

Article submissions would be due to me by July 31st, 2023, for editing before they are forwarded to ABA for publication. However, an early submission of an article is always encouraged.

Articles have a wide range of content from interviews to book reviews and more! They run approximately 750 words in length (3-5 pages double spaced). For information on types of articles, please see the ABA Guidelines for Publication: https://lnkd.in/g9XQs7ww

Additionally, you are welcome to review the September 2019, 2020, and 2021 and November 2022 editions:

• September 2019: https://lnkd.in/gFnGxwXS
• September 2020: https://lnkd.in/g2Ax_BqT
• September 2021: https://lnkd.in/ghd-3Nt6
• November 2022: https://lnkd.in/g7Mza-bC

If you have an idea of what you would like to write about, but want to talk it through with someone, please let me know that as well. I am always happy to discuss potential articles.

In the interim, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you might have, as well as let me know if you plan on writing a piece. I want to be supportive of our authors and knowing who is writing ahead of time allows me to do so! You can reach me via e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (517) 353-8830.

Best Wishes,
Shannon Lynn Burton, Ph.D.
University Ombudsperson | Michigan State University
Editor | ABA Just Resolutions September 2023

By Ellen Miller, IOA Executive Director 

For the past several months, IOA and our Advocacy Committee have been very busy. 

Following the filing of IOA's Title IX Comments last September, Advocacy Committee Co-Chairs Sarah Klaper and Mark Patterson, and I met with 10+ Congressional offices, including staff of the US Senate's Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the US House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce.  These meetings successfully raised awareness about the role of organizational ombuds and why ombuds should be considered confidential employees regarding Title IX and campus security.  The meetings were well-received and illuminating.    

By Jennifer Schneider, Mary Rowe, Tim Hedeen, and Hector Escalante, IOA Practice Survey Sub-Committee

IOA recently released the 2022 Practice Survey Report. The data shared in the report were gleaned from IOA’s Practice Survey, which was administered back in the spring. The report includes information about participants’ organizations, caseloads, issues, services and accomplishments.  

The 2021 calendar year brought many unique challenges that affected the work of ombuds. The IOA Practice Survey team added items that addressed the effects of COVID on ombuds work with visitors and with their organizations. These data suggest that over half of the most serious cases managed by ombuds were related to the pandemic. Concerns around work/life balance, return to work or school, safety and flexibility consumed much of the ombuds time during that year.