IOA Elects Six to Board in 2012

The International Ombudsman Association has announced the results of its recent board election. The following individuals who have been elected to serve three-year term as Directors starting on April 14, 2012: Ilene Butensky, Doris Campos-Infantino, Isabel Calderon, Indumati Sen, and Ted Williamson. In addition, Nora Farrell, was elected to a two-year term as Associate Member Representative.

Prior post: Election Opens for 2012 IOA Board of Directors.

Election Opens for 2012 IOA Board of Directors

The International Ombudsman Association has announced the slate for the 2011 Board of Directors election. As it has in the past, the Ombuds Blog provides links to public information about the candidates to supplement the official ballot statements.

Nominees for the five open directors positions are:

• Bernard Anderson -- LinkedIn; Ombuds Blog;
• Ilene Butensky -- Eaton Corp.; Ombuds Blog;
• Isabel Calderon (incumbent) -- LinkedIn; Ombuds Blog;
• Doris Campos-Infantino (incumbent) -- Interamerican Development Bank;
• Dolores Gomez-Moran -- George Mason University; Ombuds Blog
• Reto Meister -- LinkedIn;
• Indumati Sen (incumbent) -- International Baccalaureate; Ombuds Blog; and
• Ted Williamson -- LinkedIn; Ombuds Blog.

The nominee for the single associate member representative position is:

• Nora Farrell -- Ryerson University; Ombuds Blog.

Voting, which is open only to IOA members, closes Monday, December 12, 2011 at 5pm Pacific Standard Time (8pm EST). Results of the election will be sent out via email in January, and a formal announcement to members will be made at the IOA conference in April.

Related posts: IOA Announces Board Nominees (2008); Slate for 2009 IOA Board Election; IOA Voids Election Results, Reopens Voting; IOA Announces Board Election Results (2010); IOA Opens Balloting for 2011 Board of Directors.

IOA Elects Board Officers for 2011-12 Term

At its annual conference in Portland, OR, the International Ombudsman Association has announced that its Board of Directors has elected officers to serve until next April.

The following will serve as officers of the association:

• President -- Tom Kosakowski, University of California, Los Angeles
• Vice President -- Doris Campos-Infantino, Inter-American Development Bank
• Treasurer -- Wayne Blair, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Assistant Treasurer -- Nick Diehl, American Red Cross
• Secretary -- Anamaris Cousins, Halliburton

On a personal note, I am honored to be chosen to lead this association and I promise to do my best in service to my colleagues. I am aware that my new role may cause some confusion about the relationship of this blog to IOA. So let me make it clear that the Ombuds Blog is solely mine and does not necessarily reflect the official position of IOA. I will not post items to the blog that are not already available to the public; information that is restricted to IOA members or the board will not be published here. 

Inclusion or exclusion of any matters should not imply an endorsement or disapproval by IOA. Moreover, during my tenure as board member, I have a fiduciary duty to not take a position against IOA. On the other hand, comments will still be permitted (although personal attacks and commercial comments will not). If anyone has questions, please contact me at any time.

-Tom

IOA Pre-Conference Master Class Will Feature Leading Ombuds

On March 3, the International Ombudsman Association will offer several training programs as a prelude to its annual conference in Portland, OR. The initial announcement for the full day "Master Class: Skills for the Experienced Ombudsman" indicated that it was being taught solely by Nick Diehl, the Deputy Ombudsman for the American Red Cross. Updated information reveals that Diehl will co-facilitate with Sara Thacker, the Ombuds for the University of California, Berkeley, and the Berkeley National Laboratory. In addition, the class will feature all-star Ombuds from a variety of industries:

• Howard Gadlin, current Ombuds for the National Institutes of Health and former Ombuds at the University of California, Los Angeles
• Linda Wilcox, former Ombuds for Harvard University Medical School
• Jan Schonauer, current Ombuds for AllianceBernstein and former Ombuds for Caltech and the University of California, Irvine
• Doris Campos-Infantino, Ombuds for the Inter-American Development Bank and former Ombuds for the National Institutes of Health

The priority registration deadline is March 10.   (IOA Pre-Conf. Info.)

Related posts:  IOA Announces 2011 Pre-Conference Courses; Interviews with Leading Ombuds Give Perspective on Future of Profession.

IOA to Offer Organizational Ombuds Training in Paris

UNESCO will host the next training offered by the International Ombudsman Association September 6-8 in Paris.  Two courses will be presented: one for beginning Ombuds and one specialized course. 

Ombudsman 101 will be offered September 6-7, 2010. This course covers the fundamentals of the organizational Ombudsman role; it will benefit the recently-appointed Ombudsman, individuals interested in becoming an Ombudsman, or anyone desiring to establish an Ombudsman function in industry, government, higher education, and public or private social services agencies. The instructors will be Danielle Fischer-Lebailly, European Ombudsman for Mars Inc., and Georgia Shaver, Ombudsman for the UN World Food Programme.

Mediation and the Ombudsman, a specialized course, will be offered September 8. This all-day program will introduce practicing Ombuds to mediation, the mediation process, and mediation programs. Instructors will examine the relationship between Ombuds practice and mediation, two of the most common informal dispute resolution mechanisms used to resolve workplace conflict. The course will be taught by Camilo Azcarate, Manager of Mediation Services for the World Bank, Doris Campos-Infantino, Ombudsperson for the Inter-American Development Bank, Donna Douglas Williams, Ombudsman for the World Health Organization, and Linda Toyo Obayashi, Mediation Officer for the World Bank.

The deadline for priority registration is July 23, 2010. (IOA Paris Info.)

Election Results for IOA Board

The International Ombudsman Association has announced the results of its 2009 Board of Directors election. The following were selected to the three-year terms on the Board:

• Judy Bruner, University of California, San Diego (reelected);
• Isabel Calderon, Mars, Inc.;
• Doris Campos-Infantino, Inter-American Development Bank;
• Kevin Jessar, National Institutes of Health (reelected);
• Patti Lynch, United Technologies Corporation (reelected); and
  
• Don Noack, Sandia National Laboratories.

In addition, John Carter of The Citadel was elected to a two-year term as the Associate Member Representative.

Prior post: Slate for 2009 IOA Board Election.

Slate for 2009 IOA Board Election

The International Ombudsman Association has announced the slate for the 2009 Board of Directors election. To supplement the official ballot statements, the Ombuds Blog provides links to public information about the candidates.

Nominees for Board of Directors

• Judy Bruner -- UCSD Ombuds Office; Ombuds Blog
• Isabel Calderon -- IOA Speaker Bio
• Doris Campos-Infantino -- Chasqui Online
• D.A. (Diedrick) Graham -- Ombuds Blog
• Kevin Jessar -- NIH Catalyst
• Donna Louden -- Inside CU; Ombuds Blog
• Patti Lynch -- United Technologies Corp.
• Don Noack -- Sandia National Lab
• Kirsten Schwehm -- LSU Ombuds Office
• Lee Twyman -- RIT Ombuds Office; Ombuds Blog
• Elizabeth Walsh Pino -- NY Times

Nominees for Associate Member Representative

• John Carter -- Citadel Ombuds Office; Curriculum Vitae
• Kerry Egdorf -- Marquette Ombuds Office; OU Class Notes; Ombuds Blog

Voting closes February 20.

Related posts: Balloting Begins for IOA Board (2007); IOA Announces Board Nominees (2008); IOA Board Election Results (2008).