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MEETING MINUTES

Meeting Date/Time: June 13, 1:30pm – 3:00pm

Location: USDA, 1400 Independence Ave, SW, 1st Floor, Room 1052(c) and Dial-in

Agenda:

1. Mentoring Program Update 

2. Records Schedule Update

3. COFO Conference Update

4. Discussion Topics

5. Announcements 

Highlights:

1. Mentoring Program Update

a. The purpose of the program is to promote best practices and encourage cross-fertilization 

amongst COFO members and their organizations. Mentoring committee is seeking 

b. Some key parameters –

i. Mentors will be serving a two year term under COFO. Mentees should be practicing 

ombuds for a minimum of one year. 

ii. Applicants to both positions will apply to a mentoring committee for acceptance. 

Please contact COFO Executive Committee and/or Paul Sotoudeh if you are 

interested in joining the committee (Paul.Sotoudeh@uspto.gov). 

iii. If you have any questions regarding the concept document, which is currently in 

draft form, please contact Mollie Berg (Mary.a.Berg@nga.gov), Guy Weber 

(Guy.J.Weber@nga.gov) or Paul Sotoudeh (Paul.Sotoudeh@uspto.gov). 

2. Records Schedule Update

a. The committee is expected to meet next week to discuss strategy and way forward. 

b. The concept document is in draft form. Please contact the COFO Executive Committee if you 

have any questions (Paul Sotoudeh, Mollie Berg, and/or Guy Weber).

3. COFO Annual Conference Update

a. The COFO Annual Conference will be held at the US Patent and Trademark Office 

(Alexandria, VA) on Friday, October 12, 2018. 

b. Conference committee met on June 6, 2018 to discuss the major buckets of the conference, 

including logistics and content. With each of the areas, the committee was able to 

tentatively agree on roles and responsibilities. 
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c. Conference committee would like your input on potential topics and speakers. Please 

contact Tyler Smith (Tyler.Smith@nih.gov) and Bina Patel (Bina.M.Patel.Civ@mail.mil) with 

your suggestions.

4. Discussion Topic:

a. Ombudsman as Trainer – Do you offer training to the agencies you ombuds or, for 

externally-facing ombuds, your stakeholders? If so, on what do you conduct training, and 

how do you socialize its availability to the target audience? Any special considerations when 

either publicizing or delivering the training to maintain an independent posture and 

differentiate your program from your agency?

i. Suggestions/Recommendations from COFO members:

1. The Ombudsman training differs in each agency. Ombudsman are offering 

training to internally and externally stakeholders. Internally, training may be in 

partnership with other departments, or conducted only in the Ombudsman 

function. 

2. Topics for trainings range from Myers Briggs, Crucial Conversations to Conflict 

Resolution 101. Materials for the trainings are created independently by 

Ombudsman. 

3. Members of COFO also shared logistical options. Some agencies independently 

conduct logistics, while others are routed through the training departments. 

4. In some agencies, training does serve as an effective tool to advertise the 

Ombudsman function, despite conducting training in partnership with internal 

groups such as EEO/Training Office. 

5. Announcements

a. ROI Institute will be hosting a 5 day training, “Measuring the ROI of Soft Skills” from August 

20-24, 2018 in Washington D.C. The purpose of the training is to show value in soft skills 

through metrics and ROI. The training will be followed by a capstone study on how to build 

metrics and speak to stakeholders. All requirements must be met to earn the ROI 

certification. The audience for this training includes ADR and Ombuds practitioners, coaches 

and facilitators. The cost of the training is $2500. Please contact Vikram Kapoor at FEMA for 

more information (Vikram.Kapoor@fema.dhs.gov)or ROI Institute (Terry@roiinstitute.net). 
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Attendees:

In-Person

Berg, Mollie -National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Gordon, Laurel – Department of Justice

Levine, Lisa – Department of Justice

Marx, Lauren – Chi Associates

Maurer, Bill – Department of Energy

Sotoudeh, Paul – United States Patent and Trademark Office

Call-In

Achuko, Devara – Department of Homeland Security

Balick, Howard – Department of Health and Human Services

Barrera, Michael – SBA Office of Disaster Assistance

Bedlevy, Dawn – National Security Agency

Bunns, Felicia – Department of Energy

Dodson, Shireen – US State Department 

Donnelly, Wanda – US State Department

Epps, Ayanna – Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Harley, Jasmine – National Credit Union Administration 

Heffernan, Claire – Transportation Security Administration 

Kapoor, Vikram – Department of Homeland Security 

Ladell, Natalie- US State Department

Larkins, Marcia – Department of Health and Human Services 

Lewis, Kimberly Day – FLETC, Department of Homeland Security

Lukham, Stephanie – Department of Homeland Security

Manderson, Katie – Texas State Department

McGuire, Carrie – Office of Government Information Services

Merrix, Celeste – Department of Homeland Security

Michael, David – Department of Health and Human Services 

Milner, Heather – Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Morey, Chauncenette – Department of Justice

Patel, Bina – National Ground Intelligence Center

Rogers, Joan- Environmental Protection Agency

Smith, Tyler – Department of Health and Human Services

Webb, Jackie – United States Patent and Trademark Office 

Weber, Guy - National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Wolfe, Lexi –Transportation Security Administration 

Wright, Donald – US Department of Agriculture

Zeller, Jessica – Department of Health and Human Services

Zrubek, Tom – Department of Defense