The Ombuds Blog: Gates Foundation Debuts Ombuds Program

June 22, 2023

Gates Foundation Debuts Ombuds Program

Bathabile Mthombeni, Caitlan Hendrickson, and Alnoor Maherali are the first Ombuds for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest charitable foundation. They will serve 3,000 staff and contingent workers at the BMGF headquarters in Seattle and offices in Washington, DC, China, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Nigeria, South Africa, the United Kingdom. Their services will be provided under a contract with MWI in Boston, which requires adherence to IOA standards.

Mthombeni is currently the Ombuds for Binghamton University and the past Associate Ombuds at Columbia University. Hendrickson is an Ombuds for FEMA and the former Ombuds for the University of Arizona. Maherali recently served as an inaugural Ombuds for CVS. All three have been out-sourced Ombuds for other MWI clients. (Link to public info to be provided when available.)

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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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June 22, 2023

Gates Foundation Debuts Ombuds Program

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