IOA Releases Detailed Agenda for 2022 Virtual Conference

For the second year in a row, the International Ombudsman Association will hold its annual conference virtually. IOA's 17th annual meeting will take place April 4 through 6, 2022. Social events will use Gather.town, a virtual world with video features. Registration has been open for a few weeks and now the detailed agenda has been posted.

Here is the schedule:

Monday, April 4

8:00am - 6:30pm PDT

Foundations Welcome & Reunion Event

Opening Ceremony & Welcome

Gather.town Familiarization

What Would You Do? A Case Study Exploration (Gather.town)

In this session, participants will explore a real case in small groups led by a facilitator. The purpose is to learn from each other while aligning our Ombuds practice with IOA’s newly adopted Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

Keynote: Ken Cloke

Ken is a mediator, arbitrator, facilitator, coach, consultant, and trainer, specializing in resolving complex multi-party disputes. He has worked in over 25 countries and is the founder and first President of Mediators Beyond Borders.

Concurrent Sessions

• Session A1 | Reimagining Ombudsing. Exploring How the Pandemic Has Changed the Work of Ombuds
  Fred Wright, Workplace Conciliator, Government

• Session A2 | Looking at Professionalism Lapses with an ACE Lens
  Andrew Sirotnak, MD, FAAP, Professor and Vice-Chair Faculty Affairs, Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado School of Medicine

• Session A3 | What Ombuds Can Learn From Negotiators: Theory and Application Adapted From the World of Negotiations Education
  Chad Austin, Professor of Law, United States Air Force Academy

• Session A4 | Ombudsing Through Micro-Credentialing
  Sofia Trelles, Ombudsperson, Florida International University; Madeline Kleinberg, Graduate Assistant, Florida International University

• Session A5 | Embedded at the Root: Influences on the Road to Reimagination
  Ashley J. Davis, Associate Ombud, University of Washington; Desirée Anderson, PhD, Associate Dean, Diversity and Student Affairs, University of New Orleans

Belonging Together: The Experience

Belonging Together: The After Party (Gather.town)

Tuesday, April 5

4:00am - 4:30pm PST

Mary Rowe Keynote Address: Victoria Mars

Victoria designed and built the global Mars Ombudsman program, providing Mars Associates at every level of the organization with a service that addresses workplace challenges in a neutral, confidential, and informal manner.

International Sector Meeting 1 (Gather.town)

Colleague Catch-up

Concurrent Sessions

• Session B1 | Cross-Cultural Dialogue in Workplace
  Ati Alipour, Attorney, Heris Law Firm

• Session B2 | Team Pulse-Taking: Helping Teams and Managers Understand Areas of Strengths and Weaknesses
  Balint Balassa, Conflict Resolution Officer, UN Refugee Agency; Tina Hinh, Associate Conflict Resolution Officer, UN Refugee Agency

• Session B3 | Multipartiality: An Ombuds Technique for Achieving Equitable Fairness
  Kimberly Jackson Davidson, University Ombudsperson, George Mason University; Natalie Sharpe, Director, Office of the Student Ombuds, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

• Session B4 | Safeguarding Confidential Data: What Is the Ombuds' Responsibility?
  Dr. Clare Fowler, Executive Vice President, Mediate.com; Colin Rule, CEO, Mediate.com; Chuck Howard, Former Executive Director, International Ombuds Association

Professional Sector Meetings (Gather.town)

Concurrent Sessions

• Session C1 | Academic Writing for the Ombuds
  Shannon Lynn Burton, University Ombudsperson, Michigan State University

• Session C2 | Trauma-Informed Ombudsing
  Laura Smythe, University Ombuds, University of Idaho

• Session C3 | The Upstream Ombuds: Serving as a Conduit of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging Feedback for Organizational Systemic Change
  Julia Heck, University Ombuds, Eastern Michigan University

• Session C4 | Ombuds and the Power Structures of Civility: Where Do We Fit?
  Julia Farmer, Director of Ombuds Services, University of West Georgia

• Session C5 | Creating Space for Belonging Dialogues: The UN Women "Conversations for Change" Project
  Donna Douglass Williams, Head of Ombuds, Pinterest; Nozipho January-Bardill, Principal, Bardill, and Associates; L. Trey Wilson, Ombuds, BGB Studios; Jon Peacock

The Practice Edge: Who Owns the Story?

Session with the IOA Board

Learning Circle One (Gather.town)

Wednesday, April 6

4:00am - 6:00pm PDT

What Would You Do? A Case Study Exploration (Gather.town)

In this session, participants will explore a real case in small groups led by a facilitator. The purpose is to learn from each other while aligning our Ombuds practice with IOA’s newly adopted Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.

Learning Circle Two (Gather.town)

Catch It Again

Concurrent Sessions

• Session D1 | Organizational Ombuds in the Hungarian Context
  Julianna Czifra, Graduate Student, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Work and Organizational Psychology

• Session D2 | [Session Cancelled]

• Session D3 | Reimaging Ombuds Reporting: New Tools and Techniques for Better Data Collection
  Chuck Doran, Ombuds / Mediator, MWI; Colin Rule, CEO, Mediate.com; Megan Winkeler, Ombuds/ Analyst, MWI
• Session D4 | Transforming Conflict by Helping People Feel Heard Regarding What, Who, How, and Why
  Tish Robinson, Field Project Teams Coordinator, Hitotsubashi University; Keiko Suzuki, President, Footsteps Co. Ltd.
• Session D5 | Cultural Humility in Our Role as Ombuds
  Sana Manjeshwar, Global Principal Ombuds Manager, Chevron; Janet Vantriet, Ombuds Manager, Chevron; Alyssa Robbins, Ombuds Manager, Chevron; Takis Bogdanos, Ombuds Manager, Chevron; Fatima Haidour, Ombuds Manager, Chevron; Diana Wu, Ombuds Analyst, Chevron

Keynote | Fireside Chat: Resmaa Menakem

As a therapist, trauma specialist, and the founder of Justice Leadership Solutions, a leadership consultancy firm, Resmaa dedicates his expertise to coaching leaders through civil unrest, organizational change, and community building.

Concurrent Sessions

• Session E1 | Team Ombud: Case Study of a Collective Model for Academic Conflict Resolution
  Abram Kaplan, Professor of Environmental Studies; co-founder of Faculty Ombuds Program, Denison University; Frank "Trey" Proctor, Professor, Department of History, Denison University; Monica Ayala-Martinez, Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Director of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Denison University

• Session E2 | Conflict Reimagined: Understanding the Role of Power and Attachment at the Heart of Conflict
  Jennifer Mahony, Ombuds Office Director, Boston Children Hospital; Laurel Marshall, LMFT, Director, Laura Marshall Counseling

• Session E3 | Blaze Your Trails: Identify Change Goals to Further Your Ombuds Practice
  Angela Dash; Founder and President, The Pace Institute, LLC; Mike Rozinsky, Founder and Principal, RZNSKY LLC

• Session E4 | Fresh Insights on Ombuds Practice: 2022 Survey Findings and Trends
  Timothy Hedeen, Professor of Conflict Management, Kennesaw State University; Mary Rowe, Adjunct Professor of Negotiation and Conflict Management, MIT Sloan School of Management; Jennifer Schneider, Student Ombuds, University of South Florida; Hector Escalante, Ombuds, University of the Pacific

• Session E5 | Ombudsing in Africa: Experiences, Challenges, and Approaches
  Abdoul Aziz Cisse, Regional Ombudsman for Africa, International Committee of the Red Cross

Professional Sector Meetings (Gather.town)

Closing Ceremony & Farewell

Learning Circle Three (Gather.town)

(IOA Conf Info.)

Related posts: IOA Announces Agenda for 2020 Conference in Portland; IOA Seeks Proposals for First Conference Ombuds; IOA Cancels 2020 Conference; IOA Posts Details of 2021 Virtual Conference; IOA Offers 10 Scholarships for 2022 Virtual Conference; IOA Opens Election for Two Board Cohorts.