The Ombuds Blog: Brookhaven National Lab Abruptly Closes Ombuds Office

November 10, 2025

Brookhaven National Lab Abruptly Closes Ombuds Office

Just two weeks after she was appointed as the Ombuds for the U.S. Department of Energy lab in Long Island, New York, Brooke Wichmann has been laid off "due to changes in leadership and funding." She had been selected after a 20-month search to restart the Ombuds program at Brookhaven and bring it up to IOA standards. (LinkedIn.)

2 comments:

Anonymous11/10/2025 8:33 AM
Awful, I'm sorry Brooke that it happened to you!
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Anonymous11/11/2025 4:52 PM
This move by this lab really encourages people to want to work there and makes those that are there question the integrity of those they work for. Shame on leadership.
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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:

Brazil -- Ouvidor

Croatia -- pravobranitelji

France -- médiateur/defénseur

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Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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