The Ombuds Blog: Berkeley Ombuds to Retire

June 15, 2026

Berkeley Ombuds to Retire

Marcia Gee Riley, who has served as Student Ombuds for the University of California, Berkeley since August 2008, retires this month. Current Assistant Ombuds, Zackary Hull, will step up as Interim Student Ombuds while the campus makes plans for a search.

Riley has been an active and longtime volunteer over her career. She has held numerous leadership positions with with the California Caucus of College and University Ombuds. With IOA, she has served on the Board of Directors and taught Foundations in addition to other volunteer roles.

4 comments:

Anonymous6/15/2026 11:49 AM
Mazel tov, Marcia!
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Anonymous6/17/2026 6:16 AM
Marcia has been a role model, leader, and mentor of epic proportions to so many of us in this profession. She will be sorely missed, but I'm certain she will continue to contribute to her communities in retirement. Congratulations, Marcia!
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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

Germany/Austria -- Ombudspersonen and Ombudsleute

Italy -- difensore

Netherlands -- ombudspersoon

Norway -- ombudet

Poland -- Rzecznik

Portugal -- provedor

Russia -- омбудсмен

Spain -- ombudsman organizacional

Sweden -- studentombud

Switzerland -- ombudsmann

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