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MEETING MINUTES 

Meeting Date/Time: November 13, 2019 1:30pm – 3:00pm (EST) 

Location:  CFPB – 1700 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20552  

Agenda:

1. COFO Email/Google Group Update 

2. COFO Elections 

3. COFO Annual Conference Reflections 

4. COFO Mentoring Committee Update 

5. Discussion Topics: 

a. Co‐mentorship and cross‐mentorship 

6. Announcements  

Highlights: 

1. COFO Email/Google Group Update 

a. We are continuing our testing and apologize for duplicate emails. If you have accepted 

an invite from our Google group but have not received an invite for the monthly 

meetings, please email Paul Sotoudeh: Paul.Sotoudeh@USPTO.gov  

2. COFO Elections 

a. COFO Executive Committee ends 1 March 2020. We are seeking volunteers for the 

nominating committee and seeking practicing ombuds to run for the individual 

committee roles. Roles include: Chair, (2 positions for the following): Vice Chairs, 

Secretaries, and Coordinators. Position descriptions can be found at: 

https://federalombuds.ed.gov/s/charter  

b. Requirements & Eligibility 

i. Nominating Committee: seeking practicing ombuds and/or ADR/CR Specialists 

to assist with elections 

ii. COFO Executive Committee: current practice ombuds with IOA ombuds 

standards; member of COFO; candidates cannot be on the nominating 

committee should run for an executive committee position 

iii. Voting: practicing ombuds, acting/detailed ombuds, and ADR/CR specialists are 

eligible to vote.  

iv. Membership List: Guy Weber and Heather Milner are working to refine the 

COFO membership list prior to the election. If you are a practicing ADR/CR 

specialist or an ombuds and have changed agencies, please verify your 
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information is correct by contacting Guy Weber (Guy.J.Weber@nga.mil) and 

Heather Milner (Heather.Milner@cfpb.gov).   

3. COFO Annual Conference Reflections 

a. Thank you to all volunteers and participants in making the COFO Annual Conference a 

huge success! This year’s conference was an opportunity to build upon previous 

knowledge and experiences.  

b. Post Conference Survey: Paul has sent out the first round of the post conference survey. 

Another round will be sent out in the coming days. If you do not receive a link to take 

the survey, please contact Paul Sotoudeh: Paul.Sotoudeh@USPTO.gov

4. COFO Mentoring Committee Update 

a. COFO Mentoring committee is getting ready to launch orientation sessions for its third 

round of mentor/mentees. YTD the group has successfully recruited new mentors and 

mentees, totaling to 46 individuals; 23 pairs. The program is designed to provide an 

opportunity of growth for both mentors and mentees. The third round will include 9 

mentors total (6 internal/3 external) and 9 mentees. The program is suitable for internal 

and external ombuds. If you have any questions, please contact 

COFOMentoring@nih.gov

5. Discussion Topic 

a. Co‐Mentorship: Participants held a discussion on co‐mentorship. With the success of 

COFO Mentoring program, co‐mentorship would be similar IOA’s ombuddies program 

that would allow practicing ombuds at any stage to discuss issues with other ombuds. 

This would be greatly beneficial to solo practitioners. Such a program would create a 

space for cross mentoring with leaders and upcoming ombuds.  

6. Announcements 

a. Next COFO Monthly Meeting will be held at the American Red Cross 

b. Events:  

i. ABA & University of Boulder Colorado: successfully celebrated ombuds day on 

10 Oct.  

ii. Department of Energy ombuds office created a video endorsed by the Secretary 

and Deputy Secretary of Energy. The video can be seen on energy.gov/ombuds  

iii. EEOC Excel Conference will be held in August 2020 in New Orleans; calling for 

presenters, proposals due 3 Dec. 

iv. IOA Annual Conference will be held from 30 March to 1 April; calling for 

presenters. 

v. ABA Annual Spring Conference will be held from 22 – 25 April 2020 in New 

Orleans.  

c. Jobs 

i. TSA: Associate Ombuds equivalent to GG13 position, available on USAJobs.gov 

ii. Federal Reserve: Associate Ombuds grade equivalent to GG14/15. The position 

is at the national level in scope. 
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COFO Attendance List 

13 November 2019 

Last  First  Department     Agency 

In‐

Perso

n 

Barrar  Riley  CFPB     1 

Berg  Mollie   Department of Defense  National Geospatial‐Intelligence 

Agency  1 

Carmouch

e 

Colette        1 

Deyo  Scott   Department of Energy     1 

Doyle  Bill  Department of Homeland 

Security  United States Secret Service  1 

Mateen  Fatimah  CFPB     1 

Megee  Christine  DoD Education Activity     1 

Sotoudeh  Paul  United States Patent and 

Trademark Office     1 

Varner  Tahirih        1 

Wolfe  Lexi  Department of Energy     1 

         Total  1 

            11 

Last  First  Department     Agency    

            Call‐In 

Baker 

Wehagen  Stephanie     U.S. Small Business Administration  1 

Balick  Howard  Department of Health and 

Human Services  Food and Drug Administration  1 

Bell  Alana  TSA Federal Air Marshal 

Service     1 

Bolden  Ana        1 

Byron  Jason  Department of Health and 

Human Services  National Institutes of Health  1 

Coleman  Jean    

U.S. Small Business 

Administration  1 

Epps  Ayanna  Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation 

Office of the Internal 

Ombudsman  1 

Gnatt  Sheldon  National Security Agency      1 

Gordon   Laurel  Department of Justice  US Marshals Service  1 
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Hill  Gary  Department of Defense  National Geospatial‐Intelligence 

Agency  1 

Huff  Kevin  Department of the Treasury  United States Mint  1 

Katherine  Erica     Food and Drug Administration   1 

Lard  Sherry     Food and Drug Administration 

Center for Biologics  1 

McCoy  Barbara  Department of Health and 

Human Services  Food and Drug Administration   1 

McGuire  Carrie  Office of Government 

Information Services  NARA  1 

McNeil  Tracey  U.S. Securities and Exchange 

Commission     1 

Michael  David   Department of Health and 

Human Services  National Institutes of Health  1 

Morey  Chauncenett

e  Department of Justice  Federal Bureau of Investigation  1 

Patel  Bina     Federal Emergency 

Management Agency   1 

Platt  Meadow  Department of Health and 

Human Services  Food and Drug Administration  1 

Raymond  Xaivian  NASA Headquarters     1 

Rowe  Mary        1 

Stergio  Marcus     U.S. Department of Labor  1 

Valdez  Roberta  Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation     1 

Vermillion  Chris     Transportation Security 

Administration  1 

Villafañe  Jacqueline     American Red Cross National 

Headquarters   1 

Weber  Guy   Department of Defense  National Geospatial‐Intelligence 

Agency  1 

Whyte  Jean  Federal Reserve Board     1 

Yuille  Deanna     Food and Drug Administration 

ADR  1 

         Total  1 

 30 

7.