2025 Year in Review: The Key Stories

This last post of the year summarizes the most important developments affecting Organizational Ombuds in 2025. Many of the significant stories from 2024 continue to be relevant: the Canadian government continued to add Ombuds; practitioners continued to debate the pros and cons of external Ombuds services; and campus protests, especially in North America, continued to echo in casework. Meanwhile, the recognition of Ombuds by the U.S. Department of Education was undone and fears about losses under the Trump administration came true.

WHO Ombuds Reports on Systemic Issues During 2025 Organizational Transition

The World Health Organization’s Ombudsperson has released a report to the Executive Board outlining systemic issues observed in 2025 amid unprecedented budget cuts and organizational restructuring. (Robert Edelmann served as the WHO Ombuds until August 2025, but the report does not name the current Ombuds.) Drawing on confidential interactions across all levels of WHO, the report says the year was marked by uncertainty, reprioritization, and significant human impact. 

Brock University Ombuds Reports on Pivot to Students and 2025 Issues

Sicne being appointed as the Ombuds for Brock, Heather Bellisario has reoriented her office from a campus-wide resource to one focused exclusively on the needs of students. In her first report, Bellisario summarizes the changes and gives an overview of her casework. In the 2024-25 academic year, she handled 456 matters, with the vast majority coming from undergraduate students.

University of Maryland Names Next Grad Student Ombuds

Next week, Wade C. Jacobsen will become the next Graduate Student Ombuds for the University of Maryland, College Park, the state's flagship public university. He follows Mark Sayman in the role and joins three other Ombuds who serve the campus: Faculty Ombuds, Karen M. O'Brien; Staff Ombuds, Mashanda Mosley; and Undergraduate Students Ombuds, Lisa Kiely.

2025 Year in Review: Transitions

This is the first post in the Ombuds Blog’s annual year-end summary of the Organizational Ombuds profession. This installment focuses on transitions in the field, beginning with a review of Ombuds who retired or passed away during the year, along with a recap of newly established and closed Ombuds programs. Another post reviewing other developments from the year will follow in the next week.

Job Posting: City of Philadelphia

Philadelphia is hiring an Assistant Employee Ombudsperson. The full-time position will report to the inaugural Employee Ombudsperson, Shakeya Foreman., who has been building out an office for the past year. (This is the third posting for this position and it is unclear whether the prior searches in 2023 and 2024 were successful.) The full-time position will be responsible for responding to city employees with workplace issues case management, data collection, and administrative tasks. The work will be hybrid with some in-office days.

AI and the Humanizing Role of the Organizational Ombuds

A new article in Conflict Resolution Quarterly addresses the role of Ombuds and the effects of AI. Brian Green, the Associate Ombuds and Director of Programs at Emory University is the author of "Artificial Intelligence, Bureaucratic Dehumanization, and the Organizational Ombuds." He argues that Ombuds should approach AI cautiously and critically, viewing it through their core function as humanizers within organizational systems. 

Job Posting: Peralta Community College District

PCCD, the community college system serving Alameda County, is recruiting an Organizational Ombuds (District) based in Oakland, California. This is a full-time position reporting directly to the Chancellor that will serve faculty, staff, and students across the district’s four colleges following IOA standards. In addition, the Ombuds will oversee a Peer Conflict Services Program.

Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada Selects Next Ombuds

Rennée Lamontagne has been appointed the new Ombuds for Relations Couronne-Autochtones et des Affaires du Nord Canada, Canada's department for northern lands and territories. She reports to the Deputy Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and follows Jeremy Ames, who served in the role for just over two years. As Ombuds, Lamontagne serves as a confidential, neutral, and informal resource to facilitate the resolution of work-related concerns for approximately 2,000 employees.

Bill Angrick: Former IOI & USOA President

William P. "Bill" Angrick II, a leading Classical Ombuds, passed away on December 11, 2025, at the age of 80. Angrick's Ombuds career began in 1978, when he was appointed by the Iowa legislature as the state's Ombudsman. He retired in 2010 after more than three decades in the job. He served as President of both the United States Ombudsman Association (1981 to 1983) and the International Ombudsman Institute (2004 to 2009).

Podcast: Ombuds and MWI Founder

Chuck Doran is the most recent guest on the Blessed Be Podcast. (He is the third Ombuds to be featured on the pod. Hosts Robert Polanco and Dawn Sander say that, "This episode is especially valuable if you’re early in your career or if you’re mentoring others and want to pass on wisdom that goes beyond technique."

Job Posting: NOLA Public Schools

The public school district for Orleans Parish, Louisiana, is hiring an Ombuds to support families of students with disabilities across 68 district-run and charter schools. This is a full-time, on-site position reporting to the Executive Director of Diverse Learner Support. The Ombuds will serve as a neutral and independent resource for families, addressing concerns related to special education services, discipline, and enrollment, and assisting families in navigating district and charter school systems. 

New Report Outlines Reforms for UN Ombuds Network

The United Nation's Joint Inspection Unit has published a system-wide review of Ombuds and mediation functions, finding measurable progress since 2015 but persistent gaps in independence, access, and resourcing. The report notes expanded mandates, increased professionalization, and the establishment of new Ombuds offices, as well as the coordinating role of the Network of United Nations System Ombudsman and Mediators. At the same time, many UN agency Ombuds still lack up-to-date terms of reference, consistent reporting to governing bodies, and sufficient staffing or regional presence. The review highlights concerns about structural independence (including the use of short-term contracts, limited staff involvement in hiring, and uneven authority over resources) and underscores the impact of these constraints on service quality and trust. 

National Capital Commission Announces New Ombuds Team

Brent Epperson, Julie Boncompain, and Heather McGhee Peggs, have been appointed the Ombuds for Commission de la capitale nationale, the Canadian Crown corporation that administers the federally properties in the National Capital Region. Their services will be provided under contract with their consulting company, JustEquitable Inc.

Meet the Ombuds for Virginia Health Sciences

For the past two years, Linda R. Archer has served as the GME Ombudsperson for the Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University (commonly known as Virginia Health Sciences). In this role, she provides Ombuds services to residents and fellows with training-related concerns. (For a few years starting in 2021, Diane Holland served as the quarter-time Ombuds for Eastern Virginia Medical School, which later merged into Virginial Health Sciences. She continues as Director Of Organizational Development, Training & Ombudsperson for Old Dominion.)