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MEETING MINUTES

Meeting Date/Time: August 08, 2018, 1:30pm – 3:00pm

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

Agenda:

1. Listserve Issues

2. Annual COFO Conference Update

3. Mentoring Program Update

4. Discussion Topics

5. Announcements 

Highlights:

1. Listserv Technical Issues

a. Functional issues with the COFO Listserv continue. The Executive Committee is working 

with the Department of Education to determine the root cause of the issue. 

b. The Executive Committee suggested a workaround that involves a simple distribution 

list for COFO members via a non-governmental platform, such as Gmail that permits

larger bandwidth and onus. 

i. A concern may be that emails from a non-governmental platform are 

automatically sent to junk/spam folders. Users can mark the non-governmental 

COFO email address as a “safe user” to prevent emails from disappearing into 

the folders. 

c. If you are not getting COFO emails, or if you need any assistance sending something to 

the COFO membership, please reach out to Paul Sotoudeh, Heather Milner, or Tyler 

Smith.

2. COFO Annual Conference Update

a. The conference planning committee has received topic/speaker suggestions from the 

recent survey. A registration email, including the agenda and topics of the conference is 

expected to be sent by September 07, 2018.

b. The COFO Annual Conference is planned to be held at the US Patent and Trademark 

Office (Alexandria, VA) on October 12 and will be available via the web. However, not 

all activities will be available for the online platform. The conference may begin at 

0830am as suggested in the surveys. To ensure that we meet the required hours, COFO 

may offer a “networking working lunch.” Suggestions/recommendations for a 

“networking working lunch” include:
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i. Factor “lunch” logistics, i.e. catering food

ii. Suggestion: a senior should be seated at each table for networking purposes, 

which may be classified as a working lunch. 

c. COFO members interested in participating or may have questions/concerns, please 

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

3. Mentoring Program Update

a. Mentoring committee has been selected:

i. Chair: David Michael

ii. Committee members: Laurel Gordon, Wendy Kamenshine, Felicia Bunns, 

Virginia Behr; and Bina Patel (Ex-Officio member)

iii. Committee members will hold their first meeting on August 31, 2018 via 

conference call to discuss the way forward. 

b. Some key parameters –

i. A launch email will be sent on Monday, October 1, 2018 notifying 

mentor/mentee matches.

ii. End of December 2018/early January 2019: mentors to attend mentorship 

training.

iii. Mentor considerations/expectations:

1. Identify your goals as a mentor.

2. Actively participate in the COFO monthly meetings/ombudsman 

trainings.

3. Demonstrate a commitment to mentoring as a profession over the next 

3 years.

4. Both mentors and mentees are expected to commit 2 hours/month for 

6-12 months.

c. If you have any questions and/or interested in becoming a mentor/mentee, please 

contact Wendy Kamenshine (Wendy.Kamenshine@cfpb.gov) and David Michael 

(David.Michael@nih.gov). 

4. Discussion Topic: Serving as a Courageous Ombudsman 

a. Serving as a Courageous Ombudsman (follow-up discussion from the IOA Annual 

Conference) – What does it mean to be a courageous ombuds? 

i. In a robust conversation, participants discussed the definition of a courageous

ombudsman. Participants agreed that the definition varies across organizations. 

For example, a courageous ombudsman may be defined as maintaining 

independence, objectivity, autonomy from the workforce, while upholding a 

collegial workplace relationship with senior management and SES cadres.

ii. Courageous ombudsman may also be defined as an individual who addresses

controversial topics, delivers debatable messages and issues with SES cadres, 

perhaps in an in-person meeting, while simultaneously serving as a buffer with 

top management and the workforce.

iii. Courageous ombudsman entails an individual who challenges the 

enforcement/application of policies and procedures to ensure fairness.
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iv. Courageous ombudsman (internal/external) is an individual who is able to build 

trust, rapport, and perhaps a relationship with the workforce/clients.

v. Courageous ombudsmen are mission enablers, change agents, and provide 

services with personal resiliency. 

b. How do you address controversial and difficult topics? What are some of the elements 

or ingredients for success in such a conversation? 

i. Participants commented on communication style, one that is direct with a soft 

approach to address difficult topics. 

ii. Face to face open conversations between the ombudsman and an individual.

iii. Addressing issues while providing suggestions in the form of questions.

iv. The communication style of an external ombudsman may differ as they may not 

have the opportunities to build rapport and trust. It becomes necessary to 

explain the role of the ombudsman prior to communicating a difficult message.

v. Internally, ombudsman deliver news with facts to top management to address 

difficult conversations successfully.

vi. Internally, deliver news with Wayne Blair at the table; flexing/stretching at the 

table to address difficult conversations.

vii. Externally, define the role as an external ombudsman with the intention that we 

“don’t carry a magic wand,” so that clients understand 

c. Who do you speak with to prepare for a conversation? 

i. Speaking to the workforce and top management through consistent messaging.

d. How do you encourage proactive behavior from employees and managers? 

i. Utilize vulnerability as an opportunity to build trust. 

ii. Externally, build relations through interactions with the community. 

e. What has to be in place for this to occur? 

i. Participants agreed that trust, rapport, and good relationship should be in place 

for the success of proactive behavior between employees and managers.

ii. Participants agreed that a courageous ombudsman should be an artful 

communicator, with strong listening skills to address the needs and issues, by 

doing what’s right.

f. What keeps you from being a courageous ombuds?

i. Participants agreed that leadership may not understand the ombudsman 

function and complete tasks outside of the function. Participants suggested 

that at times, leadership may want ombudsman to serve as an enforcer to 

accomplish mission/tasks. 

ii. Generational differences in the workforce may keep an ombudsman from being 

courageous. An example that was shared, working with veterans who are from a 

different generation may be accustomed to their traditional habits and thought 

processes, which vary today.

5. Announcements:

a. National Institute of Health published their annual report. The report includes five years 

of data from 2013-2017. The report is available at the following link: 

ombudsman.nih.gov 
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Attendees:

In-Person

Dea, Joanne - United States Department of Agriculture

Desta, Abiy - Center for Devices and Radiological Health

Kinnavy, Noreen- The International Broadcasting Bureau of the Broadcasting Board of Governors

Maurer, Bill – Department of Energy

Sander, Dawn Miller– Conflict Transformation Associates, LLC 

Sotoudeh, Paul – United States Patent and Trademark Office

Webb, Robert - Armed Forces Retirement Home

Wolfe, Lexi – Small Business Administration

Call-In

Balick, Howard – Department of Health and Human Services

Behr, Virginia – Department of Health and Human Services

Berg, Mollie -National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Bloch, Brian – Department of the Interior

Brown, Amy – Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Coleman, Jean – US Small Business Administration

Donnelly, Wanda – US State Department

Epps, Ayanna – Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Fox, Angela – United States Department of Agriculture

Garmon, Felisa – Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Gartlan, Jennifer – Federal Maritime Commission

Gordon, Laurel – U.S. Marshall Service 

Heffernan, Claire- Transportation Security Administration

Hill, Gary – National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

Katherine, Erica - Department of Health and Human Services

Landau, Natalie- US State Department

Larkins, Marcia – Department of Health and Human Services

Leibman, Melissa – Department of Justice

Levine, Lisa - Department of Justice

Lewis, Kimberley Day – Department of Homeland Security 

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

Murphy, Martha – National Archives and Records Administration 

Patel, Bina – National Ground Intelligence Center
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Platt, Meadow – Food and Drug Administration 

Rippy, Katherine – Department of Health and Human Services

Semo, Alina – National Archives and Records Administration 

Smith, Tyler – Department of Health and Human Services

Stukes, Jock - National Reconnaissance Organization

Thompson, Patricia - Ombudsman Program Officer for Children and Youth Dept. of Behavioral Health

Tranconie, Fred

Walker, Don – Department of Defense

Wright, Donald – US Department of Agriculture

Yuille, Deanna – Department of Health and Human Services 

Zeller, Jessica – Department of Health and Human Services

Zrubek, Tom – Department of Defense