The Ombuds Blog: IOA Elects 2025 Board of Directors

April 14, 2025

IOA Elects 2025 Board of Directors

At its annual conference last week, the International Ombuds Association announced the results of its latest election for the Board of Directors. One new board member was voted onto the board after an unprecedented run-off election in early April. The new board member and four reelected incumbents for three-year terms starting after following the IOA Annual Meeting on 16 April 2025.

Here are the newly elected IOA board members:

Amanda Dean [incumbent], Ombudsperson for Staff and Faculty, Austin Community College

Wayne Marriott [incumbent], Organisational Ombuds, Auckland University of Technology

Mark Patterson [incumbent], Ombuds, Cal Poly Pomona

Jennifer Schneider, Organizational Ombuds, University of South Florida

Lily Xu [incumbent], Corporate Ombuds, RTX

The board will announce officers later this month.

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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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April 14, 2025

IOA Elects 2025 Board of Directors

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