U.S. Dragon Boat Federation Names First Ombuds

Emily Heizer-Kochman has been selected as the Director of the Ombuds Office for USDBF, the national, non-profit, volunteer organization for the dragon boat sport. She reports that she will be building a program following IOA best practices to serve paddlers, members, and stakeholders nationwide, and at all competitive levels.

Heizer-Kochman comes to the position after six years as Director of Conflict Resolution for St. Hope Schools, a K-12 Charter School network in Sacramento, California. Prior to that, she created an Adoption Mediation program with a foster-adopt agency in Oregon, and served as a small claims court mediator. She graduated from Cal State Sacramento, and earned an MS in Conflict and Dispute Resolution from University of Oregon School of Law. (LinkedIn.)

Related post: U.S. Dragon Boat Federation Seeks Volunteer Ombuds