Directors Appointed to Ombuds Certification Board

The new Board of Certification for Certified Organizational Ombudsman Practitioners (CO-OP) held its inaugural meeting on September 21, 2009. This signaled the retirement of the IOA Certification Task Force and the launch of the new CO-OP Board of Directors. One of the first tasks that was completed was the election of the Officers of the new organization. They are:

• Marsha Wagner, President
• Carolyn Noorbakhsh, Secretary
• Diane Dorion, Treasurer

The remaining Board members are David Brubaker as the Public Director, Jennifer [Wolf] Moumneh and Al Swenson.

The CO-OP Board will be populating standing committees on Appeals, Eligibility, Finance, Nominating and Professional Practices. In addition, communications and marketing teams will also be established to keep members and the public informed about the Ombuds certification program. People interested in volunteering for the new organization should contact Marsha Wagner (wagner at-sign colombia dot edu) or Carolyn Noorbakhsh (carolyn dot noorbakhsh at-sign nrel dot gov).

Related post: IOA Announces First Step Toward Certification Program.

IOA Board Election Results

The International Ombudsman Association has announced the results of the 2008 Board of Directors election. From the eleven nominees, the following individuals were elected to serve three-year terms as board directors: Janet Morse, Pierre Niedlispacher, Jennifer Wolf, Gary Yamashita, and Tom Kosakowski. In addition, Katherine Ziff was elected to a two-year term and Roxanne Schreiber to a one-year term as associate member representatives.

Prior post: IOA Announces Board Nominees.

Musical Chairs at the University of California

As 2006 drew to a close, there were a series of moves between ombuds offices within the UC system. Here's a recap: Jennifer Wolf left UCLA to become a university ombuds at UC Irvine; Andrea Briggs left UC Riverside to become the interim director at UC Santa Barbara; Kathy Canul left UC Irvine to become the director at UCLA; and Tom Kosakowski, previously at UCLA, became the interim director at UC Riverside. Meanwhile UC Berkeley is looking for another staff ombuds. (Prior Ombuds Blog posting.) No word on whether the music has stopped yet.

IOA Elects Officers at 2010 Conference

At the annual business meeting of International Ombudsman Association, out-going Board President Gary Yamashita announced that directors have been elected as officers for 2010-2011:

• President - Jennifer Moumneh (née Wolf)
• Vice-President - Tom Kosakowski
• Assistant Treasurer - Jan Morse
• Secretary - Don Noack

Wayne Blair will continue to serve as Treasurer, having been elected last year to a two-year term.

IOA Announces Board Nominees

Eleven ombuds have been nominated for the International Ombudsman Association Board of Directors. When electronic voting ends on February 1, five will be appointed to the Board. In addition, there are two nominations for the single associate member representative. To supplement the candidates' statements provided by IOA, here is a collection of further information about the candidates.

Board of Directors Candidates

• Camilo Azcarate -- Princeton U.; News@Princeton; UMass Alumni News; Mediate.com; IOA 2006 Conference Speaker Bio
• David Carver -- U. Nebraska Medical Center
• Thomas Kosakowski -- Claremont Graduate U.; UCLA Today; Engaging Conflicts; Ombuds Blog posts
• Janet Morse -- U. Minnesota; U. Minnesota Faculty Report;
• Pierre Niedlispacher -- Coca Cola Enterprises; IOA 2006 Conference Speaker Bio
• Theresa Prator -- Southern California Ombuds Group
• Mauricio "Reese" Ramos -- UCLA Today; Ombuds Blog post
• Michael Turpenoff -- Federal Student Aid; FSA Ombudsman News
• Donna Williams -- Georgia State U.
• Jennifer Wolf -- UCLA Today; UC Irvine; Ombuds Blog post
• Gary Yamashita -- Incument (Treasurer); IOA 2006 Conference Speaker Bio; American Bar Assn 2002 Speaker Bio; Ombuds Blog post

Associate Member Representative Candidates

• Roxanne Schreiber -- U. Idaho; IOA 2006 Conference Speaker Bio
• Katherine Ziff -- Ohio U.; American Counseling Assn.

Related post: Balloting Begins for IOA Board.

IOA Board Elects Officers

The newly elected IOA Board of Directors meet during the Joint Ombuds Conference in Montreal and elected officers for the 2009-2010 term:

• President - Gary Yamashita
• Vice President - Jennifer Wolf
• Treasurer - Wayne Blair
• Assistant Treasurer - Janet Morse
  
• Secretary - Tom Kosakowski

Related post: Election Results for IOA Board.

Updated Joint Conference Schedule

ACCUO and FCO have posted an updated agenda for the joint Ombuds conference in April 2009. IOA has posted a program summary too, but the revised agenda reflects last minute changes and significantly more detail about sessions and presenters.

Newly added sessions include:

• Externs in the Ombuds Office: Why They Should be Welcomed and How They Should be Managed with Tom Kosakowski and Indu Sen;
• Issues Concerning IOA Standards of Practice with Legal Implications co-sponsored by IOA committees on Professional Ethics, Standards & Best Practices, and Legal & Legislative Affairs;
• Compassion Fatigue, Vicarious Trauma and the Ombudsman with Ian Darling;
• Whistleblowers: Thank You and Good-bye with Gareth Jones and Barbara Finlay;
• An Introduction to Results Based Management for Ombudsman Offices with Luc Martin, Lisette Thibault, and Serge Jetté;
• Conversations with the IOA Board;
• The Ombudsman and New Institutional Governance, Towards a Development of Participative Practices and Mediation with Louise Lalonde and Catherine Régis; and
  
• IOA’s “Certification Planning” Discussion with Marsha L. Wagner, Carolyn Noorbakhsh, and Jennifer Wolf.

Don't plan your conference without considering these sessions. (ACCUO Conference Program; FCO Conference Abstracts; IOA Agenda-at-a-Glance.)

Related posts: 2009 Conference Agenda Announced; 2009 Pre-Conference Courses Announced.