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COFO MONTHLY MEETING MINUTES

Meeting Date/Time: December 14, 2022, 1:30-2:55pm (EST)

Location: Video/telephone

Agenda: 

1. Mentoring Committee – please consider applying to serve on the next Mentoring Committee!

2. USOA update

3. Ombuds Day 2023 – national co-chair needed!

4. Voluntary Leave Transfer Initiative reminder

5. Next Ombuds Supporting Ombuds (OSO) meeting 12/28

6. Announcements – Training opportunities, job openings, or really any office and ombudsman 

happenings you'd like to tell the world about

7. General Questions - Space for new and emerging practitioners and programs to ask questions 

and get feedback from the COFO community in a short discussion format

8. Discussion Topic

o As 2022 ends, what are you thankful for in the ombuds and ADR sphere? And what are 

you looking forward to or hopeful for in 2023? Let’s close the year out with some 

gratitude for what went well and hope for what might come next.

o Your topic here!

Highlights:

1. Mentoring Committee

o Next term begins January 2023 and runs through January 2025, nominations and selfapplications are open. 

o Volunteers that started the program and steered it over the years have created a model 

for other ADR groups. Program that COFO is proud of.

o If you’ve been a mentor or mentee in the past and want to move the program forward, 

please consider submitting a self-nomination. 

o Composition is typically 3-5 people and has been 5 for the past few years.

o If interested, email the current chair whose email is in the chat, or EC members.

2. USOA Update

o There will be a speaker at the next meeting December 20 from 11am to 2:30pm ET 

presenting on “power of facilitation for ombuds.”

o Announcement will be sent by email after today’s meeting with information for how to 

join the meeting through MS Teams. 

o Question about whether it will be recorded for those on leave. USOA will ask presenter.

3. Ombuds Day 2023 – national co-chair needed!

o Talk about 2023 Ombuds Day already begun because search is out for co-chair.
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o Preference is that co-chair be a member of ABA Dispute Resolution Section. Reach out 

to remaining co-chair if interested. 

4. Voluntary Leave Transfer Initiative reminder

o Connects ombuds who need leave with ombuds from around the federal government 

who have leave to donate. Helps to avoid awkward scenario where ombuds ask for or 

donate leave to others in their agency. 

5. Next Ombuds Supporting Ombuds (OSO) Meeting – 12/28

o Next meeting will still be held despite holidays. Scheduled for 2-3pm. 

o Safe space to discuss the things going on personally and professionally that impact us. 

6. Announcements – Training opportunities, job openings, or really any office and ombudsman 

happenings you'd like to tell the world about

o Census Bureau ombuds office is increasing staff. There is a backlog of vacancy 

announcements in CB so still unsure when it will be announced, but a reminder that the 

GS-14/15 Associate Ombuds position will be open soon. The position can be based in 

either Suitland, MD or just outside Louisville, KY.

7. General Questions - Space for new and emerging practitioners and programs to ask questions 

and get feedback from the COFO community in a short discussion format

o For experienced ombuds, what is your standard practice for providing feedback about 

perceived negative behaviors by a senior leader? Provide it directly to the leader in 

question, or one level up? For instance, someone very high up reporting directly to an 

agency Director. 

• Someone shared that it depends on the information you are giving, if the person 

might be receptive to change, and how telling them might impacts others 

around them. 

▪ Sometimes though it “falls on deaf ears” so because of the ongoing 

impact others were brought in to assist with delivering the feedback to 

help create change. 

• Someone else advised to consider how receptive the leader might be, but that 

generally it would be best practice to go to the leader directly to be transparent 

and give them the opportunity to address the feedback. 

• Someone else agreed that a lot is dependent on the nature of the feedback and 

how negative it is. For instance, if serious allegations such as harassment or 

hostile work environment, kind of pointless to bring that to the person accused 

of harassing or harnessing a hostile work environment. Might make sense to go 

above them or to suggest to the visitor who they might themselves share the 

information with for reporting purposes. 

▪ Either way, important to discuss thoroughly with the visitor/inquirer

because you don’t want to be in a position where you are breaking 

confidentiality simply by raising it since it could be obvious who it is 

coming from. 

• Someone in chat suggested that abrasive management coaching from a 

consultant could be helpful or just to consult those resources to figure out how 

to speak with that leader.

• Someone suggested focusing on the impact for the leader because they have a 

boss too and can’t always assume they wouldn’t want to address it themselves. 

• Someone in chat said a lot will also depend on what the inquirer wants.

o Are non-management ombuds members of the bargaining units themselves? Are they 

happy about it? Are there reasons they are not part of the BU?
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• Someone shared that they don’t know of any ombuds who are part of the BU 

and this person would push back on the notion that an ombuds should be. 

Whether internal or external, it could put the ombuds in a strange position 

interacting with agency actors and could breach independence. 

• The person asking the question knows of at least one federal ombuds who is a 

BUE and likes being one, so that’s part of the reason for the question. 

• Someone else shared that when they realigned PDs for new ombuds positions, 

they had to come up with actual reasoning for HR about why they couldn’t be in 

the BU, and one of the reasons given was confidentiality and the sometimes 

sensitive information ombuds do not disclose, but could be put in a 

compromising position if a member of the BU. 

• Someone in the chat wondered, “Is there such thing as an ombuds within a 

bargaining unit? That's where it seems that belonging to the bargaining unit 

might be advantageous to be a member of the union along with the 

constituents?”

▪ Someone responded that their agency has three unions and at times 

they’ve needed assistance from an ombuds but don’t have access to the 

agency ombuds because they aren’t actually constituents, so in those 

times this person also wondered if having an ombuds for the BU would 

be helpful.

▪ Someone else shared that they have helped a few BUs set up new 

ombuds positions and may be a new frontier. 

• Someone else in the chat said, “Typically employees engaged in personnel work 

are excluded from the bargaining unit.” They then unmuted and said that as far 

as they know there might be a regulation that prevents HR people or others 

who work on internal personnel matters from being in BU.

▪ Someone else found the regulation, 5 U.S.C. 7103(a) -- (10) (11) (13) 

BUE, U.S.C. 7112(b) --- (3) (6). 

• Someone else shared they invite union representatives to meetings to maintain 

good working relationships with the BUs. 

▪ Someone agreed and added that you don’t want to be collaborative so 

as not to form a partnership but can certainly be cooperative. 

• Someone else shared that there are five exclusions that prevent someone from 

being in a BU (if a management official, supervisor, confidential employee, 

personnelist, national security).

• Someone else shared this came up when they were a state ombuds for CA, and 

there were attorneys in BUs which raises another interesting level.

8. Discussion Topic: As 2022 ends, what are you thankful for in the ombuds and ADR sphere? And 

what are you looking forward to or hopeful for in 2023? Let’s close the year out with some 

gratitude for what went well and hope for what might come next.

o Someone shared that they are thankful for all of their colleagues and for COFO as well. 

They recently moved into an ombuds management position and are grateful to their 

former colleagues now reporting to them for embracing their new role.

o Someone is thankful for COFO leadership and particularly the Chair for keeping things 

going during such difficult times and supporting the ombuds community. 

• Chair responded by thanking the whole COFO community and mentioning that it 

is a community effort. 
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o In chat someone wrote, “I am appreciative for the mentoring committee and for my 

mentor! He has been great to work with. I have learned a great deal and appreciate the 

committee!”

o Someone thankful for the many different levels of support, guidance, and continuing 

education that COFO offers. Offer wonders where everyone gets the energy to put so 

much into a volunteer group. 

o In chat, “I'm looking forward to a return to in-person conferences with all my 

Ombuddies in Seattle.”

o In chat, “I'm so appreciative of the COFO community! A special thank you to the people 

and efforts to create the COFO Peer Network, and to my great trio.”

o In chat, “It's interesting to me that although our community has grown hugely (higher 

number of members) but still feels like we are a tightly knit community.”

o In chat, “I have felt thankful for COFO from the beginning and especially in these very 

very strange days .. You are light to the whole world on issues like mentoring and OSO 

and theory building.”

o Someone shared they are also really excited about the profession in general moving 

forward because of all of the recent and really important discussions being had about 

new and future ombuds positions.

o In chat, “I am hopeful that COFO members will write about their many innovations and 

successful initiatives.”

o Someone shared they want to be realistic with themselves that 2023 feels like it could 

be very unpredictable, but they find comfort in knowing that they have the COFO 

community to fall back on.

o Someone else mentioned they are thankful to all of the other ombuds organizations 

such as IOA and USOA who are also doing great work, participating with COFO, and 

helping lead the field. 

o Someone on EC mentioned that they too are thankful for EC, but for the community as a 

whole because over the course of time they’ve been on the EC they’ve noticed more 

and more quality and sustainable programs created by ideas from those who aren’t on 

EC and driven by generous volunteers.

Attendees:

Last First Agency Call-In

Anderson Jeff DOE 1

Behr Virginia FDA 1

Berg Mollie NGA 1

Bloch Brian DOI 1

Bookstein Monique Prince William County Public Schools 1

Braden Lara CIV 1

Brown Andrea USPTO 1

Coffman Cherina NGA 1

Enriquez Elisa Los Alamos National Laboratory 1

Footman Aaron USPTO 1
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Harley Jasmine National Credit Union Administration 1

Harshbarger Blayne APHIS 1

Hartman Jessie NARA/ Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) 1

Hendrickson Caitlan FEMA 1

Hudson Antoinette DC DGS 1

Jarrett Syreeta DIA 1

Kamenshine Wendy CFPB 1

Katherine Erica FDA 1

Katikos Nicole Veteran’s Health Administration 1

Kinnavy Noreen USAGM 1

Lawrence Steven DHS Office of Intelligence & Analysis 1

Lenkel Laurie FDA 1

Levenson Dan OGIS 1

Levine Lisa DOJ / Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) 1

Lewis Mark FDA 1

Malone Marcus US Marshals Service 1

Manderson Katie VA 1

Maurer Bill Census 1

McGuire Carrie NARA/OGIS 1

Milner Heather CFPB 1

Morey Chauncenette FBI 1

Patel Bina USPTO 1

Patno Arielle FDA / Center for Tobacco Products 1

Porch Susanne Commerce/National Institute of Standards and Technology 

(NIST) 1

Rowe Mary Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 1

Schwartz David UNLV 1

Smith Julie Census 1

Smith Tony Census 1

Smith Tyler NIH 1

Sotoudeh Paul USPTO 1

Stergio Marcus Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs/DOL 1

Thomson Ronnie Sandia National Laboratories 1

Trujillo Sarah APHIS 1

Vermillion Chris DOE 1
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Walker Olivia Army Medical Readiness Assistance Program 1

Weber Guy NGA 1

White Karen National Education Association 1

Wolfe Lexi DOE 1

Wong Wean Khing CA Court of Appeals 1

Yuille Banford Deanna DOD/Defense Human Resources Activity 1

Yurgelun Christine MA Probate and Family Court Department 1

Total 51