The Ombuds Blog: Election for 2021 IOA Board: 5 Nominees for 6 Seats

February 04, 2021

Election for 2021 IOA Board: 5 Nominees for 6 Seats

The International Ombudsman Association has opened the voting process for its 2021 Board of Directors. The election is a bit of a surprise this year because there are fewer candidates than open director seats. The Board said that it is reconsidering the eligibility criteria, which may be discouraging people from becoming directors. An email about the election included this announcement:

The Nominations and Governance Committee (NGC) and the Board recognize that although the current eligibility criteria listed in the IOA Bylaws were created in good faith and with specific purposes in mind to protect the Standards of Practice, they have actually created barriers for interested members to seek board service, and limits diverse representation on the Board. NGC and the Board are committed to breaking down these barriers as a part of strategic governance planning that is currently underway. The Board expects to propose revisions to the IOA Bylaws at the Annual Meeting this April.

Three nominees are incumbents and two would be new to the Board. Jessica Kuchta-Miller, CO-OP (Washington University in St. Louis) and Sana Manjeshwar, CO-OP (Chevron) were eligible for a second term, but are not on the ballot. Here are the nominees along links to any information published on the Ombuds Blog:

Elections close March 4, 2021. (IOA Board.)

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Organizational Ombuds

Organizational Ombuds serve as a confidential, independent, neutral and informal dispute resolution resource for a specific entity. They are accessible to a defined population and can advocate for fairness. These unique characteristics distinguish Organizational Ombuds from Classical Ombuds, mediators, arbitrators, and other alternative dispute resolution professionals. The term "Ombuds" is shorthand for "Ombudsman," "Ombudsperson" and "Ombuds Officer," which also are used widely.

Some other variants include:

Austria -- Ombudsstelle

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

Germany -- Ombudspersonen

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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February 04, 2021

Election for 2021 IOA Board: 5 Nominees for 6 Seats

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