January 09, 2026

IOA Announces Agenda for 2026 Virtual Conference


The International Ombuds Association has posted details for its next annual conference. The online only event is set for April 13-15, 2026. The conference will be highlighted by keynote addresses by Paul Sotoudeh and M. Gerard (Jerry) Fromm. The conference starts each day at 8:00am Pacific. 

Here is the tentative conference agenda: 


Monday | 13 April

Welcome and Introduction

Opening Keynote: Something Clinical Is Missing | M. Gerard (Jerry) Fromm

Breakout Session 1 
  • CS 1A: Achieving and Maintaining Ombuds Embeddedness and Effectiveness | Chuck Doran and Bruce J. MacAlllister
  • CS 1B: Building the Nimble Ombuds Office: Approaching the SOPs from what you can do Introducing the Concept of Affordance in office design and Standards of Practice Application | Lisa Yamagata-Lynch and Ellen Miller
  • CS 1C: From Uncertainty to Agency: Ombuds Best Practices for Empowering Undergraduate Students | Loralee Hoffer, Susan Lin, and Scott Deyo
  • CS 1D: The Conflict That Won't Go Away: Using DST to Unlock Stubborn Conflicts | Lexi Wolfe and Isar Mahanian
  • CS 1E: From Empathy at the Core: Advancing User-Centric Innovation in Ombuds Service | Alexandre St-Jean and Evariste Salndjoukou
Breakout Session 2  
  • CS 2A: Standards as Strategic Assets: Navigating Jurisdictional Currents | Mark Patterson and Ellen Miller
  • CS 2B: Exploring Rapid Ethnography for Ombuds Practice | Matthew L. P. Ricke
  • CS 2C: But, He's a Narcissist: Navigating Conflict When Visitors Doubt It's Possible | Geoffrey Adelsberg
  • CS 2D: Community-Centered Collaboration System (C3S): A Systems Framework for Organizational Ombuds Practice | Scott Deyo
  • CS 2E: Beyond Surface Solutions: The Seven Levels Framework for Transformative Organizational Conflict Resolution | Ian Renaud
  • CS 2F: Common Reading | Shannon Burton
Survey Session

PM Mini Sessions

Round 1: 
  • Words That Heal
  • Indigenous Conflict Perspectives
  • The Value of Reach Out Initiatives
Round 2: 
  • Demonstrating ROI and Success of Ombuds Programs: Making the Invisible Visible 
  • A Shared Ombuds Service Model 
  • Confidentiality in Tech-Enable Ombuds Work: Tools and Frameworks 
  • Ombuds Leadership in Crisis: Supporting Your Organization Through Workforce Reduction 
Round 3: 
  • Navigating the Dual Roles of the Collateral Ombuds: A Duoethnographic Reflection by Two Faculty Ombuds
  • Assessing Organizational Readiness for an Ombuds Office
Breakout Session 3
  • CS 3A: Ombudsing in Complex Environments | Fred Wright
  • CS 3B: Moving into the Ombuds Role: Strategies for Entering into and Advancing in the Profession | Mitchell Friedman, Scott Cantor, and Amanda Dean
  • CS 3C: "Trust-Mapping" -- Using Conflict Mapping in Trust-Centric Conflict Coaching | Tricia Suzanne Jones
  • CS 3D: Explaining Ombuds with Theory | Mohammad Rahanur (Shovon) Alam and Lisa Yamagata-Lynch
  • CS 3E: From Raw Data to Real Value | Dana Hinojosa
  • CS 3F: Practice Session | Tim Hedeen, Hector Escalante, Mary Rowe, and Jennifer Schneider
  • Ombuds Stories

Tuesday | 14 April
Welcome

Introduction and Mary Rowe Keynote: Paul Sotoudeh

Breakout Session 4
  • CS 4A: Leveraging Educational Partnerships as a Strategy for Building Organizational Effectiveness | Duren Thompson and Lisa Yamagata-Lynch
  • CS 4B: Our First Chapters: Stories of Learning, Adapting, and Leading as New Ombuds | Bradley Davis and Jen Amano
  • CS 4C: Be the Change You Want to See: Facilitating Self-Agency with our Visitors | Michael N. Herrington, Elisa Ortega-Schultz, MS, MA, LMSW, and Hector Escalante
  • CS 4D: Listening to Ombuds' Voices: An Interactive Discussion of Findings from a Study of Identity-Related Perceptions and Self-Care Strategies in Ombuds Work | Karen M. O'Brien, Mashanda Y. Mosley, Esq., Nazish M. Salahuddin, PhD, and Karoline J. Travato
  • CS 4E: AI as Your Communications Partner: Simple Strategies to Boost Ombuds Outreach | Elizabeth Hill and Teresa Ralicki
  • CS 4F: Common Reading
Breakout Session 5
  • CS 5A: Radical Hope: Promoting Hope and Healing as Ombuds | Dr. Nadia Ferrara
  • CS 5B: Leading with Courage and Clarity: Story-Driven Strategies for Ombuds in a Complex World | Aleya Harris
  • CS 5C: Coaching Skills for Ombuds: Time-Tested Tools to Help Visitors Gain Insight, Solve Problems, and Build Resilience in Conflict | Julie Weber and Tracey Brant
  • CS 5D: Tools for Practice: Insights from Counseling Theories for Ombuds Work | Laura Umphrey, Ph.D.
  • CS 5E: Living the Ombuds Ideals--The Four Tenets of the IOA Standards of Practice in Challenging Cases | John Baugus
  • Research Update (RNA)
Discussion Circles

Introduction and Keynote Presentation 2

Breakout Session 6
  • CS 6A: Starting New! Starting with Children and Youth! | Judi Fairholm, Dona Houansou, Nandisa Tilayi, and Pierre Cazenvae
  • CS 6B: A Pluralistic Approach to Conflict | Kristine Paranica and Amy Hartman
  • CS 6E: The Weekly Checklist: An SOP-friendly Metric for Collecting Operationally-Useful Value and Effectiveness Data | Tim Hedeen and Mary Rowe
Optional Happy Hour

Optional Affinity Group Breakouts in Gathertown


Wednesday | 15 April

Practice Edge

Mentoring Session

Closing

Social Event Cross-Over with ABA

Cross-Over Sessions with ABA (3 hours)
  • ABA Session Track A: Train the Trainer: Facilitating a Conflict Management Workshop with Impact | Jenna Silver - Training Director, CCR,  Nathalie Thompson - Ombuds, Architect of the Capitol
  • ABA Session Track B: Theory in Action — Deepening Your Skills for Multi-Party and Organizational Team Disputes | Richard Birke - SVP & Executive Director, JAMS Institute at JAMS,  Andrew Thomas - Divided Community Project, Ohio State University Moritz College of Law,  Fred Wright - Workplace Conciliator, Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning

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