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MEETING MINUTES

Meeting Date/Time: May 09, 2018, 1:30pm – 3:00pm

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

Agenda:

1. IOA Recap

2. COFO Conference Update

3. Agency Outreach

4. Mentoring Program Update

5. Discussion Topics

6. Announcements 

Highlights:

1. IOA Recap

a. Government Sector Networking Session Recap

i. The 2018 International Ombudsman Association Conference, held on April 23-

25 in Richmond, VA, included a number of concurrent sector-specific meetings, 

including one focused on government ombuds. The meeting was held from 9:30 

– 10:30am on Tuesday, April 24.

ii. Small group of COFO members, Patrick Holman, Lisa Levine and Joanne Dea and 

Laurel Gordon designed and led the framework for the government sector 

discussion around the theme “Tools in Times of Change”. 

iii. Session participants separated into small groups focused on one of four subtopics: Addressing Systemic Issues, Keeping above the Fray, Serving as a 

Courageous Ombudsman, and Building Relationship with the New Team.

iv. Group discussions encouraged participants to ask questions and share best 

practices and lessons learned, while networking with fellow government sector 

ombuds.

v. Positive feedback from COFO members indicated interest in ongoing discussions 

of the sub-topics at future COFO monthly meetings.

b. Popcorn Session Resource Document

i. The round table discussion was held from 3:00 – 4:30pm on Tuesday, April 24 

and resulted in a positive show of support by the government sector. 

ii. Participants and panelists engaged in a lively discussion on enhancing the 

ombuds practice with new and current resources. Panelists shared experiences 

and resources, including book lists and trainings on compassion and fatigue with 

participants. 
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iii. Heather Milner will seek approval to share these resources with COFO members 

from IOA. If you have any questions, please contact Heather Milner 

(Heather.Milner@cfpb.gov). 

c. Your IOA-related discussion topic here! 

i. Plenary Un-Debate: Ombuds Neutrality in a Politically Charged Era: Time for a 

Reexamination was held at the International Ombudsman Association 

Conference, from 10:15am to 11:45am on Wednesday, April 25. 

ii. The discussion focused on the application of neutrality and the birth of IOA’s 

standards. IOA standards were the result of a merger between TOA (corporate 

ombuds org) and UCOA (university and college ombuds org) in 2004, including 

the provision on neutrality. The plenary discussion stimulated new thought on 

the utilization of neutrality.

iii. Positive feedback from COFO members indicated a strong interest in ongoing 

discussions on applying neutrality in grey zones at future COFO monthly 

meetings.

2. COFO Annual Conference Update

a. The COFO Annual Conference is tentatively planned to be held at the US Patent and 

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

b. A conference planning volunteer group is being put together to assist in generating 

ideas for topic areas and speakers. Volunteers are also sought for logistical support on 

the day of the conference. 

c. Expect a message via the COFO listserv on the COFO conference. COFO members 

interested in joining are asked to identify themselves to Bina Patel 

(Bina.M.Patel.Civ@mail.mil) and Tyler Smith (Tyler.Smith@nih.gov) by May 11.

3. Mentoring Program Update

a. The purpose of the program is to promote best practices and encourage crossfertilization amongst COFO members and their organizations.

b. Program design is complete and has been shared with a small group of reviewers before 

submission to the Executive Committee.

c. The tentative launch date of the program is June 01, 2018. Once the mentoring 

committee is established, mentors and mentees will be matched. 

d. Some key parameters –

i. Mentors should have three years’ experience as practicing ombuds; Mentees 

should be practicing ombuds

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

acceptance; the committee will match mentors with mentees based on function 

and other parameters. There will be 2 matching rounds per year (January and 

June)

iii. Generally speaking, designers are looking at 2 hour/month commitments for 6-

12 months of both mentors and mentees.

e. Expect a message via the COFO listserv on the mentoring program. If you have any 

questions, please contact Wendy Kamenshine (Wendy.Kamenshine@cfpb.gov) and 

David Michael (David.Michael@nih.gov). 

4. Discussion Topic: 
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a. How do ombuds manage assistance to a deployed or distributed workforce? Do offices 

deploy employees themselves? Travel out to the field or work locations? Do offices 

have a travel budget? How do they work with the management in the field/location 

from the ombuds location in DC?

i. FEMA has Ombuds in the field who are deployed during times of emergency. A 

field Ombuds is a new function for FEMA. 

ii. Suggestions/Recommendations from COFO members: 

1. Increase use of technology and communication platforms to offset the 

cost of face-to-face sessions (VTC, Skype, and Teleconference).

2. Emphasize the importance of the ombuds function to the chain of 

command to obtain a set travel budget to major locations where the 

majority of the staff is located. 

3. Explain the importance of the Ombuds in the field to the chain of 

command. Ombuds in the field is vital to the overall morale of the 

individuals who are deployed. Having an ombuds in the field to meet 

face-to-face may help with resolving issues quickly and in real time. 

b. Maintaining a visitor’s confidentiality when addressing concerns of retaliation for 

using ombuds services. 

i. Case in point: an employee experienced retaliation for visiting the Ombuds’ 

office and received subsequent adverse action by the supervisor. How do 

ombuds balance neutrality and maintain confidentiality of a visitor?

ii. Suggestions/Recommendations from COFO members:

1. Reach out to the supervisor’s manager regarding the retaliatory 

behavior and ask about “how” the retaliation was conducted.

2. Ombuds should involve other offices with the ongoing issues and 

potential investigations (i.e. Human Resources, DoD IG). 

3. Attend organizational town halls/speaking engagements to discuss on 

the ombuds function and role. 

4. Hold a dialogue session on risks associated with retaliation for visiting 

the ombuds office at town halls and speaking engagements. 

5. Announcements 

a. Congratulations to Mollie Berg on earning a Master’s in Conflict Resolution from George 

Mason University. 
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Attendees:

In-Person

Berg, Mollie -National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Hill, Gary - National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Maurer, Bill – Department of Energy

Pritzker, David – Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Sotoudeh, Paul – United States Patent and Trademark Office

Wolfe, Lexi – Small Business Administration 

Call-In

Balick, Howard – Department of Health and Human Services

Behr, Virginia - Department of Health and Human Services

Block, Brian - Department of Interior

Daramola, Tangita – Department of Health and Human Services

Fleming, Tasha – Department of Justice

Garmon, Felisa – Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Gartlan, Jennifer – Federal Maritime Commission

Holman, Patrick -- Department of Energy

Hurley, Nathan - Department of Health and Human Services

Kamenshine, Wendy – Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Kinnavy, Noreen, International Broadcasting Bureau Voice of America and Office of Cuba Broadcasting

Lenkel, Laurie – Department of Health and Human Services 

Levine, Lisa – Department of Justice

Lewis, Kimberley Day – Department of Homeland Security 

McNeil, Tracey – U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

McGuire, Carrie – Office of Government Information Services

McNeil, Tracey – U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Merrix, Celeste – Department of Homeland Security

Michael, David – Department of Health and Human Services 

Milner, Heather – Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Mitchel, Kirsten- Office of Government Information Service

Patel, Bina – National Ground Intelligence Center

Plonk, Maureen - Department of Homeland Security

Raines, Eric – Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Rapier, Holly – Department of Health and Human Services

Raymond, Xaivian – NASA Headquarters

Reed, Janay - Defense Intelligence Agency

Smith, Tyler – Department of Health and Human Services

Stukes, Jock - National Reconnaissance Organization

Walker, Don – Department of Defense

Weber, Guy - National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Wright, Donald – US Department of Agriculture

Wynder, Rea – Department of Homeland Security

Zeller, Jessica – Department of Health and Human Services

Zrubek, Tom – Department of Defense