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MEETING MINUTES

Meeting Date/Time: March 13, 2019 1:30pm – 3:00pm

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

Agenda:

1. COFO Membership Location

2. COFO Annual Conference

3. ABA Dispute Resolution Section Ombuds Committee Update

4. Ombuds Research Survey

5. IOA Annual Conference Updates and Requests

6. Discussion Topic

7. Announcements 

Highlights:

1. COFO Membership Location

a. USDA has been gracious to host our monthly meetings over the past year. We will have 

to find a new venue. New venue considerations: centrally located that is metro 

accessible. 

b. For possible venue suggestions, please email Paul Sotoudeh 

(Paul.Sotoudeh@USPTO.GOV).

2. COFO Annual Conference

a. Seeking volunteers for the annual conference, which is expected to be held later this 

year.

b. Please contact Paul Sotoudeh (Paul.Sotoudeh@USPTO.GOV) or a member of the COFO

Executive Committee for questions or suggestions. 

3. ABA Dispute Resolution Section Ombuds Committee Update

a. The Committee has been working towards developing the Model Organizational 

Ombudsman Act. The purpose of the Act is to create a model statute which defines 

what an organizational ombuds is and codifies protections for the role, which may 

impact Federal ombuds programs. The hope is that state legislatures will pass this Act 

into law in their jurisdictions. The Committee is finalizing the document and will it send 

out to the federal ombuds community for comments. 

b. Proposed ombuds act will be circulated through the COFO Executive Committee. For 

questions or concerns, please contact Wendy Kamenshine 

(Wendy.Kamenshine@cfpb.gov) and/or Paul Sotoudeh (Paul.Sotoudeh@USPTO.GOV). 

4. Ombuds Research Survey
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a. Tyler Smith from NIH has been working for years with his colleagues in higher education 

(Shereen Bingham, University of Nebraska at Omaha; Bryan Hanson, Virginia Tech; 

Andrea Griffin, Indiana University Northwest) to develop a tool that measures

perception. The primary goal of this tool is to understand perceptions across the 

organization that enables ombuds to consider the impact of their practices and how 

they frame communication about their office. 

b. Currently, the tool has been piloted in academic internal ombuds organizations. The 

group would like to extend the pilot study to the federal sector. Tyler and his colleagues 

are seeking volunteers to answer a 2 minute preliminary anonymous survey on this 

topic. Tyler will send out an email containing a link to take the survey. The final survey 

tool will be made available to all ombuds at no cost. For more information, please 

contact Tyler Smith (Tyler.Smith@nih.gov). 

5. IOA Conference Updates & Requests

a. The government sector discussion will be facilitated by Deanna Yuille (FDA), Elisa 

Enriquez (Los Alamos Laboratory) and Bina Patel (NGIC). The discussion topic: 

addressing harassment in the workplace. It is a 360 degree discussion that is designed to 

address harassment in the workplace for both external and internal ombudsman. For 

questions or thoughts, please contact Elisa Enriquez (elisae@lanl.gov), Deanna Yuille 

(Deanna.Yuillebanford@fda.hhs.gov) or Bina Patel (Bina.M.Patel.civ@mail.mil). 

6. Discussion Topic: Early Warning Signs 

a. How do you get early warnings out in the agency? Who do you go to report early 

warnings?

i. Participants shared best practices of how they would handle early warnings in 

their agencies. Examples include,

1. The importance of building rapport in a professional working 

relationship, one that encourages an understanding of independent 

boundaries, with individuals of influence such as Human Resources, 

Senior Leaders, and/or Legal Counsel). 

2. Early warnings may include sensitive topics and depending on the issue, 

as ombuds, we have to remain flexible to developing professional 

relationships with leadership in the organization to comfortably report 

it. 

3. Due to confidentiality, it can be challenging to report early warning

signs. A few ways to report early warning signs without releasing 

confidentiality: collect trends associated with a specific issue and early 

warning; research on the issue to gather information and report it as a 

general trend or major outlier. Some agencies are required to report 

early warning signs such as potential whistleblowers or IG complaints 

and obligated to report it. 

4. For both external and internal ombuds, calculus to report early warning 

signs is not necessarily different. Whether the issue reported is external 

or internal, the ombudsman must seek to build professional working 

relationships within the organization to report early warning signs. 
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5. Early warning is a function of what the ombuds does and not necessarily 

a process. Currently, a defined process of reporting early warning does 

not exist. 

ii. Suggestion: continue to develop professional partnerships that offer trust and 

rapport, encouraging difficult conversations to take place, when needed, 

specifically to report early warning signs. 

iii. Takeaway: When addressing early warning signals, it is important to act upon 

the ombuds principles of practice to ensure neutrality, confidentiality and 

independence are not compromised to attain a successful working relationship. 

It is a mutual layer that is dependent upon building partnerships with other 

internal functions.

7. Announcements 

a. Trainings & Conferences

i. COFO Executive Office Elections (next year): We are currently half way through 

our tenure with the present Executive Committee - if you are thinking of 

running for any of the positions next year, it is a good time to start thinking 

about it. 

ii. IOA Annual Conference will be held in New Orleans, LA from 1-4 April, 2019.

iii. Cinergy Conflict Coaching Training will be held in Richmond, VA on 9 April, 2019.

iv. ABA Dispute Resolution Conference will be held in Minneapolis, MN from 10-13 

April, 2019.

v. Kennesaw State University will hold a Summer Training Institute in Savannah, 

GA from 19-22 June, 2019.

vi. USOA Annual Conference will be held in Honolulu, HI from 18-22 September. 

b. Job Announcements 

i. CFPB is seeking applicants for Private Education Loan Ombuds. Posting is on 

USAJobs.gov and will close 19 March, 2019.

ii. US District Courts is seeking a Circuit Mediator. The Circuit Mediator position is 

from the Office of the Circuit Executive, United States Courts of the DC Circuit. 

POC for questions about the opening is Robert Fisher, the Circuit Mediator, who 

can be reached at 202-216-7343.

iii. FEMA is seeking applicants for an Externship to work in the ADR/Ombuds 

position. POC is Vik Kapoor (vikram.kapoor@fema.dhs.gov) 
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Attendees:

Last First Department Agency InPerson

Berg Mollie Department of Defense National GeospatialIntelligence Agency 1

Dea Joanne United States Department of 

Agriculture 1

Deyo Scott Department of Energy Deyo Ombuds Solutions, 

LLC 1

Kinnavy Noreen 

International Broadcasting Bureau 

Voice of America and Office of 

Cuba Broadcasting 1

Maurer Bill Department of Energy 1

Sotoudeh Paul United States Patent and Trademark 

Office 1

Total 6

Last First Department Agency Call-In

Asar Sharon

Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau 1

Balick Howard Department of Health and Human 

Services

Food and Drug 

Administration 1

Barrar Riley

Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau 1

Bloch Brian Department of the Interior 1

Brown Andrea United States Patent and Trademark 

Office 1

Byron Jason Department of Health and Human 

Services National Institutes of Health 1

Day-Lewis Kimberley Department of Homeland Security Federal Law Enforcement 

Training Center 1

Donnelly Wanda Department of State 1

Doyle Bill Department of Homeland Security United States Secret Service 1

Epps Ayanna Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation

Office of the Internal 

Ombudsman 1

Forfa Tracey FDA’s Center for Veterinary 

Medicine 1

Garmon Felisa Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau 1

Gnatt Sheldon National Security Agency 1

Gordon Laurel Department of Justice US Marshals Service 1

Herling Jasmine National Credit Union 

Administration 1
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Hill Gary Department of Defense National GeospatialIntelligence Agency 1

Katherine Erica Food and Drug 

Administration 1

Kamenshine Wendy Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau 1

Kelly John Small Business Administration 1

Lenkel Laurie Department of Health and Human 

Services

Food and Drug 

Administration 1

Leone Joe NSA 1

Levine Lisa Department of Justice 1

McGuire Carrie Office of Government Information 

Services NARA 1

McNeil Tracey U.S. Securities and Exchange 

Commission 1

Miller Rozmyn Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau 1

Mills Laurel Department of Justice US Marshals Service 1

Milner Heather Consumer Financial Protection 

Bureau 1

Morey Chauncenette Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of 

Investigation 1

Murphy Martha

Office of Government Information 

Services

National Archives and 

Records Administration 1

Ogunyale Patricia USDA 1

Patel Bina NGIC 1

Rippy Catherine Medicare Beneficiary Ombudsman 1

Patno Arielle USDA Center for Tobacco Products, 

Office of the Center Director 1

Semo Alina

National Archives and Records 

Administration 1

Smith Tyler Department of Health and Human 

Services National Institutes of Health 1

Thompson Darlene United States Department of 

Agriculture Farm Service Agency 1

Valdez Roberta Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation 1

Vermillion Chris Transportation Security 

Administration 1

Walker Don Department of Defense US Army Medical Command 1

Weber Guy Department of Defense National GeospatialIntelligence Agency 1

Whittington Fred (Whitt) Department of Labor Office of Inspector General 1

Williams Talisha Department of Health and Human 

Services

Food and Drug 

Administration 1

Wolfe Alexandria Department of Homeland Security Transportation Security 

Administration 1

Zeller Jessica Health and Human Services Food and Drug 

Administration 1
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Zrubek Tom Department of Defense Inspector General 1

Total 45