Coalition of Federal Ombudsman Posts Agenda and Registration for 2022 Conference

COFO has opened registration for is 2022 annual conference, “Practice in the Modern World,” which will be held (now only virtually) from 9 am – 5 pm EDT on Friday, October 14, 2022. As usual, the conference is free and open to all. The agenda is primarily aimed at federal Ombuds practitioners of all models, but includes information and sessions which may be of interest to Ombuds and ADR practitioners anywhere, as well as those interested in other fields.

The CO-OP Recertification Committee has preapproved the conference for a total of 4.5 Professional Development Hours (PDH). David Schwartz’s presentation accounts for 0.5 PDH, with the other four presentations accounting for 1.0 PDH each.

The final agenda will be confirmed and publicized shortly, but confirmed sessions include:

• “Developing Deeper Organizational Partnerships and Support”
  Brian Bloch, Mary Chavez Rudolph, William Hall, Vik Kapoor, & Tahirih Varner, Department of the Interior Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution/Ombuds team; and Paula Hoag, EPA Asbestos & Small Business Ombudsman

• “Dancing to the Edge of Neutrality”
  Linda Brothers, Senior Associate Ombudsman at NIH; Jenn Mahony, Ombuds Office Director at Boston Children’s Hospital; and Katie Manderson, ADR Director at Office of Veterans Affairs

• “Empowering Ombuds to Help Solve the Problem of Abrasive Leadership”
  Laura Crawshaw, Executive Insight Development Group

• “LGBTQ+ Cultural Competency – Pronouns & Gendered Language”
  Lucas Johansen, NOAA

• “Many Open Doors: Serving Multiple Populations as an Ombuds”
  David Schwartz, Ombuds at UNLV

When registering, please make sure your email address is correct. The virtual Microsoft Teams link to the conference will be provided via email to all registrants 24-48 hours before the conference begins. Registration will close at 5 PM Eastern time on October 13th, 2022. Note that there also may be a post-conference happy hour in DC for those in the area who wish to connect socially after the conference is over. (COFO Conf Info.)

Related posts: Updated Website is Great Resource for U.S. Government Ombuds; COFO Announces 2020 Conference and New Officers; COFO to Train New Federal Ombuds in Response to IOA Backlog; COFO Opens Registration for 2020 Conference; COFO Seeks Presenters for 2021 Conference; COFO Opens Registration for 2021 Virtual Conference; COFO 2022 Annual Conference: Call for Presentations.