By Roy Baroff, CO-OP® and Steven Goodstein
The IOA Board of Directors recently approved a plan to create an All Things Internship Task Force (ATI-TF) to explore all things related to organizational ombuds internships including, among other topics, the creation of such programs, identifying existing internship programs, and collecting and developing materials for internship programs. IOA members are invited to participate in the task force.
The ATI-TF Relates Closely to Two of IOA’s Strategic Goals:
- Goal 1 - Ombuds have the capacity and tools to position themselves as essential contributors and trusted advisors in their organizations. The ATI-TF connects as it seeks to support capacity building of existing offices while supporting learning and training experiences for new and aspiring ombuds.
- Goal 4 - IOA has a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and engagement. The ATI-TF would be a member-driven project that could create significant engagement opportunities, especially for new and aspiring ombuds who now make up a significant portion of IOA’s membership. Members would be supporting the creation of new opportunities for organizational ombuds work.
Roy Baroff and Steven Goldstein on behalf of the Membership Committee have volunteered to lead the development of this task force. Participants in the Task Force will ultimately select co-chairs to lead the ATI-TF, with final approval of the IOA Board of Directors. The task force will report to the IOA Board of Directors via a Task Force Board Liaison.
Any IOA member may volunteer to serve on the Task Force for the duration of the project. This is a great opportunity to get involved in a short-term project to connect with fellow members and create beneficial new resources for the ombuds community!
To volunteer, please email the IOA office at [email protected].