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1473 Bishops Lodge Road Santa Fe, NM 87506-0004 505.660.7800 505.983.4951 [email protected] http://bizexteam.com
BUSINESS EXCELLENCE SOLUTIONS
Bruce J. MacAllister, J.D.
Senior Principal
October 1, 2013 Search Committee President’s Office 110 Johnson Hall Via E-mail 1226 University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403-‐1226 Re: Application for University Ombudsperson; Position 13389 Dear Members of the University Ombudsperson Search Committee: It is my pleasure to seek your consideration of my professional experience to serve as the University of Oregon’s Ombudsperson. This letter includes a general resume reflecting my career experience, and details my experience and credentials relevant to the Ombudsperson position and its advertised requirements.
Summary of relevant job skills, knowledge, and experience
To begin, let me share a few highlights that I believe make me an exceptional candidate for the position: • I am recognized as a pleasant, approachable, and adaptable person who looks at each work
assignment as an opportunity for growth and personal development, while also providing a valuable service to others with unflappable consistency. I love the challenge of immersing myself in a new work environment, learning its culture, and becoming a recognized asset.
• I am currently actively employed as an ombudsperson, and serve as an international ombudsman for the International Foundation for Online Responsibility (IFFOR).
• I have twenty years’ experience working with the University of California, ten of which I served as the Ombudsman for its premier research facility, Los Alamos National Laboratory. Los Alamos has the largest physical campus within the UC system and an extremely diverse workforce that includes wide ranges of educational backgrounds, a large international community, and very significant Native American, Asian, and Hispanic workforce populations.
• I have rich ombuds program experience with professional roots that include participation in current and former ombuds professional associations, including the University and College Ombudsman Association (UCOA), the Ombudsman Association (TOA), and the United States Ombudsman Association (USOA) and, currently, the International Ombudsman Association (IOA). I served for three years as a Director on the Board of Directors of The Ombudsman Association (now the IOA). I also served on its international training faculty for training new ombuds. In this role, I provided introductory and advanced in ombuds skills.
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• I have exceptional experience in design, implementation, and program management for Ombuds Programs, having designed and implemented a number of ombuds programs, including for the University of California at Los Alamos, The Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors, and the International Foundation for Online Responsibility, where I currently serve as its Ombudsman Program Director (see, for example, the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors Ombudsman Program, (http://www.gaar.com/code-‐of-‐ethics/ombuds and http://bizexteam.com/index.php/2012/01/11/new-‐ombudsman-‐program-‐for-‐real-‐estate-‐transactions-‐in-‐albuquerque/ and for the International Foundation for Online Responsibility, http://www.iffor.org/ombudsman).
• Finally, I have exceptional experience in virtually all forms of conflict resolution and in training others in communication, mediation, and effective negotiation skills. I am a founding member of the State of New Mexico District Court’s Settlement Referee program. I provide continuing legal education (CLE) for lawyers in the region, and have served as a coach, trainer, and mentor for large, national conflict resolution programs, such as the U. S. Department of the Interior’s CORE program, in which I provided training to a number of the Regional Solicitor’s Offices and served as a mediator for the offices that report to the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education. I also served as a mediator provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to help Native American tribes resolve internal conflicts. I have been a corporate litigator, an administrative law judge, an arbitrator, mediator, ombudsman, and community facilitator.
The balance of this cover letter includes four parts: 1) Detailed responses that address each of the nine minimum qualifications and the five
preferred qualifications; 2) A resume and links to a number of my publications relevant to ombuds program design; 3) Four professional references; and, 4) Responses to the “supplemental questions” included in the job ad.
Job Experience Relative to Minimum Qualifications 1) Advanced degree in mediation, conflict resolution, or closely related field from an
accredited institution. I completed many specialized as well as comprehensive alternative dispute resolution, mediation, and negotiation training programs in my extensive career as an ombudsman and mediator. Among the most relevant are: • Certificate in Employee Relations Law, Institute for Applied Management and Law (1987) • Comprehensive forty hour course in Mediation and Collaborative Negotiation provided by
William F. Lincoln and Randolph Lowry, while they were principals at National Center Associates, Inc. and the Center for Dispute Resolution, Willamette University, College of Law (1988).
• Resolving Public Disputes, Lawrence Susskind and Eileen Babbit, Harvard/MIT, (1989). • Employee Discipline and Grievance Handling, University of Michigan, School of Business
Administration (1990).
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• Program on Negotiation for Senior Executives (and “Dealing with Difficult People and Difficult Situations”), Harvard/MIT/Tufts University Consortium (1993).
• Advanced Mediation Practice; L. Randolph Lowry, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University, School of Law (1995). (Subsequently, Straus Institute Director Randy Lowry and then-‐Deputy Director, Peter Robinson provided 40-‐hour in-‐house training to mediation staff at Los Alamos National Laboratory, which I sponsored and in which I participated in 1996)
• Advanced Mediation Skills and Techniques, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution and Vermont School of Law (2009).
• Many specialized continuing professional development and continuing legal education programs that focus on mediation, alternative dispute resolution and advanced communication skills since focusing my practice on ADR.
2) “Minimum three years demonstrated skills in problem solving, analysis, and conflict
resolution, including the courage to address the highest levels of the institution.” • Actively serving for the last two years as the Ombudsman and Program Director for the
Office of Ombudsman, International Foundation for Online Responsibility. As the contractor selected to implement this new program, I implemented the program and provided comprehensive analysis and guidance to the IFFOR Board and its Executive Director, to launch the program for this newly created Internet watchdog organization.
• Current service as a consultant, trainer, and ombudsman coach for the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors Ombudsman Program. In this capacity, I work with the management team and the Board of Realtors and helped them design and implement the program. I currently provide on-‐going coaching to the realtor-‐ombudspersons and annual twenty-‐hour ombuds training for the organization.
• Ten years’ service as the Laboratory Ombudsman and Office Director for the Laboratory Ombuds Office at Los Alamos National Laboratory, operated by the University of California. In this position, I designed and implemented the new ombudsman program and managed a team of up to twelve associate ombuds and support staff. As Office Director, I managed an ombudsman program that provided services to the entire workforce of over 13,000 employees and contractors; a student program for up to 2,000 students and post-‐docs; a small business ombudsman program; a technology, integrity in research, and intellectual property program; a workplace mediation center staffed by 30 trained volunteer mediators; and, an on-‐line venue that channeled concerns anonymously directly to the Laboratory Director, to allow him to keep abreast of the mood and concerns of the workplace. I successfully worked directly with four different laboratory directors and collaboratively with a large number of other senior managers. In its peak year, the program worked with over 900 visitors. As the program manager, I was responsible for weekly meetings and reports to the Laboratory Director, quarterly reports to the senior management team, and annual reports to the entire workforce and involved community. These reports identified patterns and systemic issues and directly resulted in policy changes and management training initiatives.
• Three years’ service as a member of the Ombudsman Association Board, working with colleagues to address issues of ombudsman certification and training curriculum design. I was also the designated TOA Board liaison and negotiator to represent the Ombudsman
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Association in its negotiations with the American Bar Association regarding the ABA’s development of Guidelines for the operation of ombuds programs. This process resulted in the promulgation of the ABA’s “Standards for the Operation of Ombuds Offices” in February 2004, and IOA’s accompanying commentary “Guidance for Best Practices and Commentary on the American Bar Association Standards for the Establishment and Operation of Ombuds Offices,” revised February 2004.
• In virtually all of my employment and consulting positions, I have worked directly with the highest levels within the organization. Perhaps my role as “Special Counsel” to the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee best illustrates this. In this role, I served as a liaison between the New Mexico Governor, the New Mexico Attorney General, the United States District Court, The Secretary of Corrections – a Cabinet Secretary, and the State’s congressional delegation, including its two United States Senators.
3) Minimum three years professional experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities of the position including experience with analysis of legal documents and policy documents.
In addition to experience outlined in above, I have extensive experience as an attorney and a policy specialist. Specific job experience relevant to this requirement includes: • Active law practice since admission to the state and federal bars (see resume), working with
a wide array of corporate, state, and federal agency clients. • Three years’ experience as Director of the Office of Legal Services (General Counsel) to the
New Mexico Corrections Department. In this role, I was responsible for reviewing all proposed official policies for the Department and served as its legislative liaison and counsel to the Office of the Governor on correctional issues.
• Seven years’ experience as a policy specialist and then Employee Relations Section Leader for Los Alamos National Laboratory.
• Responsible for contract review for all leases, cooperative agreements, faculty contracts, and other documents for Santa Fe Community College while serving as its Vice President for Finance and Administration.
• Seven years’ experience as “Special Counsel” to the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee (a standing joint committee of the New Mexico Legislature responsible for the oversight of all finance and spending issues presented to the New Mexico Legislature).
4) Experience designing and conducting training programs in conflict resolution, negotiation skills and theory, civility, or other related topics.
I have very extensive experience in needs assessment, training program design, and direct delivery of training programs. This experience includes three years’ service as the Project Leader for Leadership Training and Development for the Training and Development Group at Los Alamos National Laboratory. In this role, I led a team of professional trainers, which, after conducting a comprehensive needs assessment process, developed a full training curriculum for nearly 800 middle and senior-‐level managers called Pathways to Leadership. In addition to leading the project, I was individually responsible for design and implementation of four programs in this curriculum, including the Laboratory Director’s flagship training program called The Director’s Workshop for Leaders: Managing Risk. This workshop reviewed virtually
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every legal requirement applicable to management within a large federal contractor and provided training in a unique, hands-‐on, scenario-‐driven approach that managers found to be highly engaging, fun, and useful. At Los Alamos, I also provided twenty-‐hour programs in other relevant topics, including: • “Negotiating in the Workplace” • “Workplace Communication Skills” • “Conflict Resolution in the Workplace”
Later, as Laboratory Ombudsman, I provided a comprehensive 24-‐hour training program, sponsored by the Ombuds Office, called Managing Workplace Conflict, open to all interested employees. All of these training programs were developed to the highest standards of adult education, and I received extensive “train-the-trainer” training from various resources. My experience as a trainer goes beyond my role as the Project Leader for Training. I have not listed all other training programs here, but other examples, not already mentioned, include: • Legal risk management training to the workforce at the New Mexico Corrections
Department; • Grievance Committee training and mediation training for employee relations staff and
employee hearing officers at Los Alamos; • Working with an international team of colleagues to redesign the Ombuds 101, Ombuds 202,
and to design the curriculum and deliver advanced programs for the Ombudsman Association. I then served on the TOA faculty to deliver parts of Ombuds 101 to international audiences, and to deliver advanced programs including “The Ombuds Workshop Advanced Series,” “Organizational Conflict Resolution,” and “Advanced Communication Skills for Ombuds.”
• “Grievance Mediation for Federal Employees,” Office of Personnel Management, Denver, CO. • “Investigating Sexual Harassment Allegations,” Superconducting Supercollider, Waxahachie,
TX, and for the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. • “The Administrative University of the Associate Directorate for Weapons Physics ,” a five month
skills development program for the administrative staff responsible for handling all of the administrative responsibilities for supporting the highly classified weapons research and development work at Los Alamos National Laboratory (Spring/Summer 2009). This program was developed in response to a comprehensive organizational development review I conducted and featured a number of guest faculty in addition to myself.
• “Core Plus Overview and Advanced Case Settlement and Conflict Resolution Skills” sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Regulatory Affairs and Collaborative Action, and delivered to the Rocky Mountain and Southwest Regional Department of the Interior Solicitor’s Offices.
5) Demonstrated knowledge of professional ombuds standards, codes of ethics, procedures, and principles and techniques for informal inquiries. I have deep and well-‐recognized knowledge of the professional standards and code of ethics, as illustrated by my tenure as a member of the Ombudsman Association training faculty and my service on its board of directors and as its liaison to the American Bar Association. I have also been actively involved in the classical ombudsman association, the USOA, and I am also familiar with the standards for classical ombuds. I actively work as a consultant, helping organizations
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design and implement their own ombuds programs, and have published extensively in such venues as the Ombudsman Association News Letter, and in my own consulting site. (For samples, please see the articles found at this link: http://bizexteam.com/index.php/articles/ .) As to principles and techniques for informal inquiries, in addition to training others in this area, and my routine work as an ombudsman, a variety of organizations have retained my services as a consultant to conduct internal, confidential, informal inquiries in highly sensitive situations. Clients for these services have included, among others, British Nuclear Fuels-‐Pajarito Scientific Corp., The University of Nevada – Desert Research Institute, the United States Center for Countermeasures (DoD), the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and a number of non-‐profit organizations.
6) Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to communicate effectively and respectfully with individuals from diverse backgrounds and with diverse groups of individuals throughout the university community and the ability to make effective written and oral presentations. My past and current work requires great sensitivity to diversity issues and effective communication with very diverse groups and individuals. My work experience has demanded comfortable, respectful, and sensitive communications with an incredibly wide array of individuals. Examples include working with:
• Convicted murderers and other inmates convicted of serious crimes; • Hispanic and non-‐Hispanic visitors with English as a second language; • Hearing and vision-‐impaired individuals (where special accommodations had to be made
while scrupulously adhering to the IOA Standards and Code of Ethics). • The Native American community, both as mediator between Native Americans and with
Native and non-‐Native individuals; • Facilitation of tribal consultations as a part of the White House Initiative on Native
American and Alaska Native Education. • Mediation of internal tribal issues for particular tribes involving disputes over internal
tribal governance, membership, and policies; • A wide variety of cross-‐cultural issues involving the international community as the
designated liaison to that community for Los Alamos National Laboratory. I speak proficient (but not fluent) Spanish and I have served as a professional meeting facilitator for community meetings involving highly controversial topics including, for example, placement or expansion of prisons or nuclear facilities, and management of radioactive waste. My experience as an executive level manager in higher education, as both a faculty member and as a Vice President for Finance and Administration (see below), enables me to be keenly sensitive to shared governance issues, and the respective special areas of focus typical to staff, faculty, and students in the higher education setting. As an ombudsman, organizational consultant and trainer, I am very experienced and adept at preparing effective presentations and materials. (Although they are not technically presentations, you will find many examples of information designed for general review at: http://bizexteam.com/index.php/blog/.)
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7) Demonstrated ability to exercise independent judgment and prudence in dealing with sensitive, confidential matters and remain non-judgmental. Virtually every position I have held during my professional career has required keen sensitivity to confidentiality. As an attorney, protecting the attorney-‐client privilege has always been a requirement. As an ombudsman, I have had to raise and defend the Ombudsman claim to confidentiality in two separate lawsuits, where my testimony was sought (as a non-‐party). My experience as an ombudsman, where, for example, the ability to work simultaneously with the alleged victim of sexual harassment, helping her explore options and approaches, while at the same time working confidentially and neutrally with the alleged harasser (who independently contacted the ombuds office) exemplifies what can be required. However, confidentiality requires more than merely understanding one’s own obligations to keep and hold information. It also requires extensive awareness and understanding of the systems and record keeping (or non-‐record keeping) required of the office, and understanding the possible implications of e-‐mail exchanges, telephone conversations, and even office location. Working with people accused of serious crimes or workplace misconduct requires a deep sense of understanding and respect for the individual and a strong ability to remain neutral and non-‐judgmental through the process. I have taken it as a true compliment, when on more than one occasion, a person that I worked with in their own crisis situation told me that, while they were not happy with the outcome (such as being fired), they were grateful to me for the feeling of respect and fair treatment that they received.
8) Demonstrated ability to obtain the trust and confidence of individuals at all organizational levels.
Examples of my ability to build trust include: • My successful selection as the first ombudsman for Los Alamos through a process where the
full range of employees from trades and support personnel to Ph.D. Physicist level technical staff from all backgrounds and ethnicities had the opportunity to weigh in as a part of the selection and screening process.
• My sustained ability to continue to serve as an ombudsman despite the transition between four chief executives and nine deputies and other senior managers.
• My engagement as a contract ombudsman for the Santa Fe Community College where I had to work across the boundaries of the shared governance structure to conduct a full assessment of organizational climate and provide the then-‐College President with a full report and set of recommendations.
• My selection, as a non-‐Indian, by the Bureau of Indian Education and the United States Department of Education, to facilitate high-‐profile tribal consultation sessions around the nation for the President’s Initiative on Native American and Alaska Native Education, and to then prepare reports of the issues identified by Native American communities regarding the current challenges and concerns facing Indian education.
• My many years’ experience working in diverse workplaces and with diverse communities, helping individuals communicate across extreme disparities in education, language, culture, values, and goals.
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9) Ability to understand liability and risk issues of a large, complex organization, including sexual harassment, whistleblower laws and policies, discrimination and other compliance issues. As discussed above, I have extensive experience as a practicing attorney and in positions involving internal risk management and legal awareness. In addition to the examples already discussed, my work includes examples such as: • Serving as a Special Counsel to the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee (LFC). In this
role, I advised the New Mexico Legislature on issues regarding risk management, minimum constitutional requirements, and consent decree compliance relevant to law enforcement and corrections activities. As previously mentioned, I also served as a liaison between the LFC and the state Attorney General, the Governor, and the Secretary of Corrections.
• I have many years’ experience and training in employment law and provide training extensively in compliance issues regarding whistleblower, discrimination, sexual harassment, and other workplace-‐related risk management issues.
• I also served as a risk management trainer regarding compliance with environmental laws and whistleblower statutes for Los Alamos.
• As the Vice President for Finance and Administration for the Santa Fe Community College, I was responsible for all campus operations, but specifically campus security, HR policies, and other risk management and compliance policies, such as the “weapons on campus” policy, smoking policy, anti-‐discrimination policies, and others.
• As the Laboratory Ombudsman I was identified as “the first point of contact” for all issues, where another resource was not clearly identified or where there were issues in working with that resource. In this role, I dealt with many sexual harassment cases, issues involving national security, all whistleblower issues, initial suggested referrals for medical, psychological, fraud/waste/abuse, and virtually every other manner of workplace or small business concern. I also worked with the Los Alamos student workforce, and assisted in resolving cases involving alleged abuse of authority, scientific integrity, intellectual property and the strange and interesting array of cases that arise from a large and complex organization.
• A very important and sometimes challenging component of providing these services involved effective, continuous coordination and mutual professional trust between other key operations, including legal counsel, HR, occupational medicine, employee counseling, the audit functions, as well as representatives of special interest groups in the community. Maintaining sound relationships while strictly adhering to the standards of practice and code of ethics requirements was often interesting and challenging.
Job Experience Relative to Preferred Qualifications
1) J.D. or LLM degree from accredited law school: I have a Juris Doctorate from the University of Tulsa, College of Law, where I graduated in the top 1/3 of my graduating class. I also hold a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology and Chemistry (pre-‐medicine) from Phillips University, where I graduated as a Dean’s Honor Student.
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2) Relevant professional experience within a four-year institution of higher education, including demonstrated understanding of principles of university governance, academic freedom, and the institutional complexities of large universities. My experience relevant to higher education includes: • 20 years’ service with the University of California, working not only at Los Alamos National
Laboratory, but serving on a variety of committees within the University of California system as a whole.
• Founding member of the University of California Caucus of Ombuds, which is the group of University Ombuds from across the thirteen UC campuses. We established shared standards of practice within the UC system and served as resources to our colleagues at the various UC campuses.
• In 2000, Congress mandated that all national laboratories establish a technology transfer ombudsman program. As the then-‐current Ombudsman, I was responsible for launching this program for one of the world’s premier and most complex research institutions, and for managing and helping to resolve all issues of academic freedom, integrity-‐in-‐research, abuses in research, authorship issues, and technology transfer issues, including any issues involving multi-‐institutional consortiums and collaborations, Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs), licenses, and patents.
• Active membership and participation in the University and College Ombudsman Association (UCOA) until its merger with TOA (and continuing participation with TOA thereafter).
• Service as an adjunct faculty member for the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University, College of Law, to teach an ombudsman course.
• Service as an adjunct part-‐time faculty for the Santa Fe Community College, where I helped design and implement the College’s paralegal certification program and taught torts, legal research and writing, and contract law.
• Serving as the Vice President for Finance and Administration for the Santa Fe Community College, where I was responsible for all campus business operations, including: managing the $24 million annual operating budget, the $25 million campus plant maintenance fund, and the College Foundation fund as the College’s COO and CFO. As the Vice President, I was the executive manager for all operations functions of the College. Examples of the operations that reported to me included: Information Technology (IT); Maintenance and Facilities; Campus Security; Campus Enterprises (bookstore, cafeteria, etc.); HR; Policies and Procedures; Early Childhood Development Center; Enrollment and Student Services; Budget, Finance, and Payroll; Student, Faculty, and Staff complaint processes; and office and classroom space management, and leased space to other colleges and the University of New Mexico. I served as the President’s liaison to the shared the governance organizations, including the Faculty, Staff, and Student Senates. I was responsible for campus capitol development, which, during my tenure, included funding several new facilities and securing A&E, and construction services for two new multi-‐million dollar facilities – a dental clinic jointly operated by the campus and a low-‐income medical/dental services organization, and a new science building. I worked closely with my counterpart, the Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs and with the College’s governing Board, and also with the State Department of Education, and the Legislative Finance Committee.
• Serving as a consultant to Dr. Steven Wells, President of the Desert Research Institute, which is branch of the State of Nevada higher education system.
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3) Professional Experience in management, supervision, and organizational development. My management experience includes managing small, medium, and large programs. Examples include managing small law offices, managing the Los Alamos Ombuds Office (approximate annual budget – $1.3 million), executive management of nearly 300 people and a $50 million annual operation and maintenance budget for the Santa Fe Community College, and program management as a consultant to the New Mexico LFC, where I was responsible for review and advice regarding the threshold legal requirements for the entire State of New Corrections Department with an annual operating budget (at the time) of over $300 million. I have also served as an organizational consultant nationally and internationally, providing training, organizational assessment, organizational conflict intervention design, and strategic and tactical business planning for organizations ranging from small non-‐profit organizations, such as the local Habitat for Humanity, to large and complex international merger and acquisition issues for British Nuclear Fuels, Ltd. during its acquisition of an American high-‐tech firm. Both as an employee and later as a consultant, I worked extensively with Los Alamos National Laboratory, coordinating many organizational development initiatives and my experience as an organizational development expert spans more than twenty years. I also taught specialized programs for the Ombudsman Association in organizational assessment, root cause analysis, and group intervention design.
4) Successful completion of mediation certificate program. As explained in my responses above, I have been certified in many mediation programs, and actually completed my advanced training in mediation before a “forty hour” program was the standard. I have been actively working as a mediator long before most of the existing advanced programs such as the Pepperdine or SMU programs were implemented. My advanced degree (Juris Doctorate) is in law. My primary focus since the mid-‐1980s has been on alternative dispute resolution, and the combined total of my specialized training in this area (ADR), easily exceeds 500 contact hours of continuing professional education.
5) Membership in the International Ombudsman Association. I have been a member of IOA (or its predecessor) through the years since 1995 (with some lapses in membership depending on my consulting focus.) I hope that you will find that I am seasoned and extremely qualified for the position, but more importantly, I hope that you will also see my passion and excitement for the opportunity to pursue this position and to be considered. When one is serving in a role that they are passionate about, it is not a job, but a life commitment. I earnestly believe that serving in this role could be such an opportunity. Sincerely,
Bruce J. MacAllister
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Bruce J. MacAllister, J.D. 1473 Bishops Lodge Road Santa Fe, NM 87506-0004
Tel: 505-660-7800 Fax: 505-983-4951 E-mail: [email protected] Web: http://bizexteam.com
Career Summary An accomplished leader, executive manager, and organizational troubleshooter with a demonstrated record of achievement and successes in leading teams, programs, and organizations to obtain outstanding results. A strong record of success in launching new programs and in identifying and correcting serious organizational, productivity, and systemic problems involving complex work environments including elite national research facilities, international corporations, and colleges and universities.
Core Competencies Executive-level Leadership/Management, Employment and Corporate Law, Management Coaching and Counseling, Finance, Budget, Program Management, Legislative and Policy Analysis and Coordination, Training, Organizational Development, Dispute Resolution, Ombudsman, and Information Technology and Data Management Systems.
Position Overviews and Some Key Accomplishments Organizational Excellence and Legal Consultant (2004 - Present)
Co-founder and senior partner in the consulting firm of Business Excellence Solutions, which provides organizational excellence and conflict resolution consulting in the U.S. and Canada to corporate, federal, state, and provincial agencies. • Conduct high-level workplace and community mediations and facilitations, including tribal consultations, international business mediations,
environmental impact hearings, and Internet-based conflict resolution for international registry domains. • Work in close collaboration with executive leadership to provide ombudsman and organizational consulting services to a diverse range of
organizations, including the International Foundation for Online Responsibility, the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs – U.S. Department of the Interior, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the U. S. Defense Department’s Center for Counter Measures, and other elite non-profit, higher-ed, and corporate clients.
• Review large programs and budgets for legal issues including regulatory compliance, and work internationally with organizations in areas involving curriculum development, conflict resolution, and organizational development.
• Design and implement compensation and student/faculty/staff complaint systems for higher education institutions and consult on policy development for high-tech and higher education organizations.
• Expert and popular trainer in employee relations, legal awareness and compliance, conflict resolution, communication and rapport. Resource Center Manager, Regional Office, Energy Employees Compensation Resource Center, Paragon Technical Services (2008) • Manage operations and staff in the Regional Office for a prime contractor to the United States Department of Labor. Responsible for
claims administration in Texas, New Mexico, and part of Arizona to handle compensation claims for current and former workers who may be eligible for compensation under federal energy worker compensation laws.
• Design and implement outreach programs to reach potentially eligible employees with special focus on current and former workers at major national energy, defense, and research facilities within the region.
Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration, Santa Fe Community College (2006-2007)
Managed a $24M annual General and Instructional budget and led capital campaign for funding for key new projects amounting to more than $30M. Served as CFO, COO, and acting CIO for an institution serving nearly 15,000 full/part-time students, serving as executive-level manager for nearly 200 employees and 14 departments, managing all operational aspects of the college, including: Budget, Finance, Payroll, IT, HR, Plant Operations and Maintenance, Procurement and Warehousing, Fleet Operations, Campus Security, and Enrollment and Student Services and most auxiliary services such as Food Services, Campus Book Store and the Early Childhood Development Center. • Implemented complete revision and recompilation of all college administrative policies and led a team to design new employee and
student discipline and complaint procedures and develop completely revised employee and student handbooks. • Supervised the implementation of a campus-wide enterprise software system (“Banner”) which now supports all business and enrollment
operations of the college. • At the request of the College Governing Board, assumed the “internal receivership” of the college’s Early Childhood Development Center,
facilitating an in-depth financial review of its operation and restructuring its practices and systems, resulting in a 35% reduction in overall operating cost and saving the College nearly $200,000 in less than one fiscal year.
• Led the College’s capitol and legislative campaigns and led contract negotiations for major projects, including an innovative partnership to share facilities and resources with a healthcare resource.
Laboratory Ombudsman and Ombuds Program Director, Los Alamos National Laboratory (1996-2006)
Nominated by the workforce and selected by the Laboratory Director to be the first Ombudsman for Los Alamos National Laboratory – a 10,000-person workforce with an annual budget exceeding $2.2 billion. Served as the chief liaison between the Laboratory’s Director and top managers and the laboratory workforce. Selected, trained and developed a high-performing twelve-person team that resolved hundreds of conflict situations annually; many of which, if unresolved, would have developed into multi-million dollar cases, including: complex technology transfer disputes, local business issues, wrongful termination claims, sexual harassment issues, and group conflict situations. Based on staff size, scope, and volume of cases, this Ombuds Program became one of the largest and most effective programs in the country, and became a recognized benchmark in the ombuds professional community.
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• Served on the International Ombudsman Association Board of Directors for three years and as a member of the Ombudsman Association international training faculty, providing entry-level through advanced training in Ombuds skills.
Previous Positions
Project Leader for Management and Leadership Development, Los Alamos National Laboratory Designed and delivered a variety of highly interactive and engaging management training programs in areas such as legal risk awareness, conflict management, communication, and negotiation skills to a diverse and sophisticated staff of Ph.D.-level leaders and managers. Led a team of professional corporate trainers to design the curriculum and deliver “Pathways to Leadership,” a comprehensive in-house training and development program for over 800 leaders and managers. Served as Lead Instructor for “The Director’s Workshop for Leaders: Risk Management,” a comprehensive two-day program in legal awareness and compliance issues and received outstanding evaluations by participants. Served as lead Organizational Development expert for the Laboratory.
Human Resources Development Division Chief of Staff, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Directed administrative operations for a complex division of nearly 200 professional HR staff. Responsible for coordinating desktop acquisition, HR information systems, and Division IT issues. Served as the due process hearing officer for all employee disciplinary actions as well as employee grievance appeals.
Employee Relations Team Leader, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Led a dynamic, high-performing team of employee relations specialists, policy specialists, and employee counselors in a sophisticated and diverse workplace of 10,000 employees and contractors. Introduced mediation into the grievance process long before that was a norm in formal processes, training the entire group in workplace mediation. Led a five year initiative that completely redesigned the employee complaint and disciplinary procedures, reducing resolution time by as much as 95% and overall cost by over 65%.
General Counsel and Director of Office of Legal Services, New Mexico Corrections Department
Established first in-house General Counsel’s Office for the state’s second largest agency. Served as chief labor-management negotiator, public spokesperson, and hearing officer for community relations issues. Established comprehensive, federally-mandated staffing patterns and due process systems for employees and inmates, including employee and inmate grievance procedures and inmate involuntary transfer procedures. Created the first in-house automated docket control system for claims against the department. Served as the legislative coordinator during each legislative session and led a team of analysts and others to press for legislation and pursue funding for the department.
Education
Bachelor of Science – Phillips University (1975) Enid, OK Biology/Chemistry/Pre-medicine Dean’s Honor Student
Juris Doctorate, University of Tulsa (1979) Tulsa, OK Graduated top 1/3 of class
Post-Doctoral Studies
Harvard University, College of Law Cambridge, MA Studies in Advanced Negotiation
Pepperdine University, Straus Institute Pepperdine College of Law Malibu, CA Program in Advanced Mediation and Negotiation Skills for Lawyers
University of Michigan, School of Business Ann Arbor, MI Labor – Management Relations
Other Information
• Writing samples and additional biographical information available at: http://bizexteam.com • Member (currently in “inactive status”), New Mexico State Bar • Former DOE “Q” and “SCI” “top-secret” national security clearances, with recent clearance review for streamlined reinstatement. • Continue with “Guest Scientist” status at Los Alamos National Laboratory to provide consulting assistance to the organization. • Served as an adjunct professor for the Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution at the Pepperdine University College of Law and served as
externship supervisor for LL.M and MBA-level students seeking their advanced degree in dispute resolution and guest lecturer at UNM School of Law.
• Active participant in a wide variety of community charitable activities. • Former professional ski instructor • Active martial arts instructor in Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido with a third-degree black belt in Hapkido.
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References
Dr. Siegfried S. Hecker, Senior Fellow and Co-Director and Professor (Research) and Director Emeritus, Los Alamos National Laboratory Center for International Security and Cooperation Stanford University Encina Hall Stanford, CA 94305-6165 (650) 725-6468 [email protected] Dr. Sheila Ortego-McLaughlin, President Emeritus, Santa Fe Community College 3 Jemez Trail S. Corrales NM. 87048 (505) 660-7275 [email protected] Judy Bruner, Esq. Campus Ombudsperson University of California, San Diego 9500 Gilman Drive La Jolla, CA 92093-0016 (858) 534-0777 [email protected] Joan Irvine, Executive Director, Emeritus International Foundation for Online Responsibility (310) 383-9895 [email protected] or mailto:[email protected]
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Supplemental Questions 1) What is your philosophy regarding your role as an ombudsperson? As I pondered this question, it came to me that, essentially, my overarching philosophy regarding working as an ombudsman is that, in this role, I am a servant of the organization. My role exists to serve all constituents of the organization equitably with approachability, respectfully, and without projecting any judgment. It is not my role to tell anyone how they should respond to anything, but rather to empower my visitors through a thorough examination of their issues and concerns, and an equally thorough examination of their options, resources, and alternatives. Through this empowerment, as ombudsman, I am able to project appreciation and respect for the visitor’s own judgment, while helping them explore their options and reality test the various alternatives they may wish to consider. In addition to projecting genuine respect for the intelligence of my visitor and his or her prerogative to select the approach that they deem most appropriate, through this process of respectful discussion, I am also able to project a strong sense of neutrality. I do not mean to imply that this process requires a sense of remoteness from the visitor. In fact, quite the opposite is the case. In my years of experience working with hundreds of ombuds program visitors in several different settings, I have found that adhering to an approach of options exploration without urging any particular outcome, actually enables a more trusted and comfortable connection with the visitor, because it becomes apparent to them that I have no agenda with respect to the outcome, beyond enabling the visitor to feel confident that they have considered their situation with an independent resource who is deeply familiar with the organization. Approaching the role of ombudsman as a servant to the organization also enables me to fully inhabit the critical risk management function that the Ombuds Program ultimately fulfills. By fully, accurately, and fairly shaping the expectations of everyone who interacts with the program and strictly adhering to the code of ethics and standards of practice (as agreed to and accepted by the organization), I am able to establish trust and rapport with all the program stakeholders. Through building this trust and credibility with all stakeholders, I am then able to approach middle managers and others with issues and concerns, while they have a high level of confidence that the concerns are visitor driven and not my own individual agenda. Likewise, I am able to approach executive level management with thoughts on case patterns and systemic concerns without fear that I may be viewed as having “gone native” or that I have any agenda other than the best interest of the larger organization. I believe that only through a commitment to scrupulous neutrality can the ombuds be viewed as a truly independent resource and I believe that this commitment, as well as strict compliance with the program’s commitment to confidentiality, within the parameters promised, is the key to the program’s credibility and sustainability.
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2) How would you address the relationship between systemic concerns and individual cases? In my view, the ombudsperson’s ability to identify and characterize systemic issues begins with effective individual case management and this must occur on several levels. First, the ombudsperson must completely own the goal of ensuring that each ombuds visitor feels like their visit was well worth the effort, and that the results were value-‐added. If program visitors come away with a sense that the program is not neutral, independent, or confidential, or that their discussion with the ombudsperson did not include competent and helpful information that was shared in a safe and respectful setting, the perceived value of the program can be impacted and the office’s reputation will quickly suffer. Second, to competently collect reliable systemic data requires excellent internal record-‐keeping systems that strike an effective balance between capturing information about the each visitor’s case in sufficient detail to enable later trend analysis, while at the same time scrupulously protecting the anonymity of each visitor and protecting the ombuds program itself from later subpoenas relating to case-‐specific situations. Accurate, comprehensive data provide an excellent basis for trend analysis, but one can never forget that a single compelling anecdotal situation may be as influential in encouraging systemic change in truly unfair situations. Wherever relevant, the ombuds should map back patterns to root causes, such as policy or services gaps, while also avoiding laying blame in that process. Additionally, when using data, the ombudsperson must recognize that different managers absorb and react to information differently. In working with the many different Directors and CEOs to whom I have reported as an ombuds, I found that each of these individuals had unique preferences in how they preferred to receive and process my upward feedback. Some of these managers preferred charts and graphs and preferred for my visual reports to speak for themselves. Others preferred to talk through the data, looking at the columns and data sources and drawing from the data their own conclusions and patterns. (Of course these data were provided in formats that scrupulously protected the identities of individual visitors.) Finally, some managers with whom I worked preferred to hear the “story” that the data told. They wanted illustrative examples of what was going on in a way that they could draw meaning from the information. Thus, in my view, one has to be prepared to assess the learning and processing styles of the managers to whom one reports, and then design the presentation of the information accordingly. For any reports that are designed for wider distribution, I find that the information needs to be presented in various ways, so that the widest portions of those reading the report find it relatable. Finally, the ombuds, as an individual who is separate from management, must respect that the data are intended to empower management to extract meaning and for management to make decisions and improvements. The ombudsman should not feel that it is his or her prerogative to press for specific changes, other than to generally encourage overall systemic fairness. Recommendations that seek specific responses can pull the ombudsman off of a neutral stance and inadvertently make them a stakeholder in the success of the specific initiative. Likewise, however, management needs to understand that, by committing to establishing and operating an ombuds program, they are committing to a process in which ombuds information, along with other inputs – such as legal trends, formal HR grievance patterns, and other information – will be used together as an organizational development and risk management tool by the executive leadership of the organization. Inaction by management in the face of compelling data undermines the credibility of the program as well.
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3) How would you address the issues of impartiality and confidentiality?
Impartiality takes several forms. First, the ombudsman must be committed to hearing each visitor’s story, without bias either towards the visitor, or with regard to the visitor’s issue, or the visitor’s behavior. But, in my experience, there is another form of impartiality that can sometimes be even more challenging. That is, when a particular visitor meets with you in your ombuds role and tells such a convincing and compelling story that it has the potential to affect (and potentially bias) one’s view of the others involved in the situation. One must always remember and frequently remind oneself that whenever two or more individuals are involved in a situation, there will be two or more versions of reality – each one extremely real and accurate to the particular individual. As an ombuds, one must also remember that impartiality can be a slippery concept and that it is extremely important to continually test oneself with respect to the person and the issues involved. Also, an ombuds must be prepared to acknowledge another’s perception of one’s own ability to serve as an impartial resource. So, for example, the ombuds might potentially feel that he or she could impartially work an issue involving a person with whom they have regular contact, such as lunches or a daily workout, but will your visitor share that same sense of confidence? Thus, serving as an ombuds must be viewed in a larger context as a lifestyle. One must be careful about the optics of workplace relationships. That said, in the past, my solid working relationship with managers has also enabled me to approach those managers and work with them in a more effective and trusting way to resolve issues, such as brokering new assignments for visitors when key relationships have broken down in their current position. I find that the secret to balancing the relationship with a visitor and with others is to be absolutely scrupulous with regard to full disclosure to your visitor of any relationship. Once disclosed to the visitor, they often find that your rapport with another person involved may actually be useful to them. With respect to confidentiality, treatises can be written. But for purposes of a brief discussion, I find four things are imperative to establishing and maintaining confidentiality: 1. Program design – the initiating documents, and charter must all be carefully worded so that, to the maximum extent possible and permitted by law, the ombuds can assert confidentiality (see my articles at www.bizexteam.com). Establishing several different grounds on which to base confidentiality, if challenged, is critical. It is also critical to clearly define, in advance, the exceptions and limits to confidentiality. Interpretation of exceptions may be somewhat specific to the organization, and should therefore be clearly articulated the particular organization. 2. Ombuds systems and procedures – The ombuds systems and procedures must be implemented and designed to ensure confidentiality. Office location and security, policies regarding records to be maintained and not to be maintained, case tracking system design and security, secure storage for working notes, phone systems and protocols, e-‐mail policies (e-‐mail creates seriously vulnerabilities), office layout and waiting area design (to separate visitors), sound-‐proofing, written confidentiality requirements for ombuds office personnel, pre-‐existing confidentiality agreements for use with language and deaf interpreters, prepared master Braille documents, and all other systems must all align to maximize confidentiality. 3. Checking confidentiality to the visitor’s resolution plan – As an outcome of the visit, it is important for the ombuds to verify any next steps by the ombuds that the visitor has approved. The visitor owns ultimate responsibility for the resolution plan, but it is common for an ombuds to engage in other follow up steps such as facilitating a dialogue or checking on certain information with others. Often, these steps necessarily require the ombuds to disclose the identity of the visitor. If this is the case, the visitor must know in advance and approve the step(s), so that any disclosure only occurs as a part of a visitor-‐approved resolution plan. 4. Courage – The ombudsperson must have the courage to assert the confidentiality of the program to anyone seeking to access information not consistent with the program’s policies, regardless of their level within or external to the organization. This can sometimes mean reminding your own management of the obligations or sometimes asserting to a skeptical court that the program has grounds to justify sustaining confidentiality. As I mentioned at the outset, treatises have been written on the concept of confidentiality, and it is important to recognize, that the ombuds testimonial “privilege” is not generally recognized by most jurisdictions to the extent that some other testimonial privileges may be, such as medical, legal, psychotherapist, or priest-‐penitent privileges. Thus, from a risk management perspective, it is important to accurately state the limits to confidentiality, as they exist in the context of the particular organization, to avoid later claims that a visitor was harmed due to their reliance on a claim of confidentiality that was later successfully overcome in a court or by an administrative agency.
