IOA Opens Election for Two Board Cohorts

After a delay of nearly a year, the International Ombuds Association has re-opened the election for its Board of Directors. Voting was delayed ten months ago while the association reviewed equity concerns, and updated its election process and other provisions of the bylaws. As a result, a third of Directors are serving well past their expected three-year term end date of April 2021. The election will fill nine positions from a field of ten candidates. Only IOA members may vote and the election closes February 25, 2022.

An email from IOA provided more details:

In this year's election, there are nine (9) director positions open on the Board. IOA completed its nomination process in December of 2021. In January of 2022, the following slate of ten (10) eligible candidates was submitted by the IOA Nominating Committee and has been approved by the Board of Directors. New directors will take office at the Annual Business Meeting, now open for registration.

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You can view a list of the current IOA Board of Directors and their term status is on the IOA Board of Directors page. IOA Directors traditionally serve three-year terms and are eligible to serve two consecutive terms. Terms are staggered so that a majority of the Board returns from year to year. For your reference, you are welcome to review the IOA Bylaws.

This year, IOA is following a modified process to catch up after the postponed 2021 election.

• 2021–2024 Director Term:
  There are four candidates running for the four available seats for this term. Once elected, directors will serve a reduced term from April 2022 – April 2024.
• 2022–2025 Director Term:
  There are six candidates running for five available seats for this term. Once elected, directors will serve a full term from April 2022 – April 2025

[Original emphasis and internal links to members-only pages omitted.]

Here are the nominees along links to any information published on the Ombuds Blog:

2021–2024 Director Term

• Suzanne Diviney, CO-OP, Vice President, Office of the Ombuds Lead, Pfizer Inc.

• Thomas Griffin, Ombudsperson, UCLA Health and Health Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles

• Jennifer Mahony, Ombuds Office Director, Boston Children's Hospital

• Jacqueline Villafane, CO-OP, Corporate Ombudsman - National Headquarters, American Red Cross

2022–2025 Director Term

• Alicia Booker, University Ombudsperson, University of Alabama at Birmingham

• Amanda Dean, Ombuds for Faculty and Staff, Austin Community College

• Wayne Francis Marriott, Organisational Ombuds, Auckland University of Technology

• Diana Mosonyi, Harmonikon - Harmonised Conflict

• Mark Patterson, University Ombuds, California State University Channel Islands

• Lily Xu, CO-OP, Corporate Ombuds, Raytheon Technologies

Notably, three candidates from the initial ballot in February 2021 are not on the current ballot: Roy Baroff, CO-OP (incumbent), Faculty & Staff Ombuds, North Carolina State University; Elisa V. Enriquez, CO-OP, Senior Associate Ombuds, Los Alamos National Laboratory; and Steve Prevaux, CO-OP (incumbent and Board VP), University Ombuds, University of South Florida.

Related posts: IOA Members Vote to Change Bylaws; Election for 2021 IOA Board: 5 Nominees for 6 Seats; IOA Postpones Board Election to Conduct Independent Review of Diversity and Equity Concerns; IOA Asks Members to Approve Omnibus Revision of Bylaws; Proposed Revision of IOA Bylaws Fails to Come to a Vote; IOA Board Yields to Members' Concerns with Updated Bylaws Proposal; Members Broadly Support Changes to IOA Bylaws; IOA Seeks Nominations for Two Board Cohorts.