Podcasts about ombuds

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Jennifer Hall.  Join us as we discuss: ✔️ Building your leadership brand and professional reputation ✔️ Why clarity is kindness at work ✔️ The role of an Ombuds—and why your workplace needs one ✔️ Creating reciprocal, thriving work relationships ✔️ Approaching conflict with calm, matter-of-fact communication ✔️ Controlling impulses in order to assume good intent ✔️ Building leadership trust through consistency Conflict Managed is available wherever you listen to podcasts and to watch on YouTube @3pconflictrestoration. With over eighteen years of growth and experience at the University of Louisville, Jennifer Hall serves as the Ombuds and Director of Strategic Engagement for the Graduate Medical Education Office, where she supports over 800 medical residents and fellows. Jennifer's background, shaped by her upbringing in a military family, provides a unique perspective on leadership and resilience. She holds an undergraduate degree in Liberal Studies with a minor in Psychology, a graduate degree in Higher Education Administration, and graduate certificates in Health Professions Education and Human Resources Leadership. Guided by the principles of empathy, integrity, and continuous learning, Jennifer is passionate about helping young professionals develop their leadership brands with intention and purpose. She also coaches others to cultivate meaningful relationships that help drive success and career growth. Jennifer is a member of the International Ombuds Association and enjoys participating at various local, national, and international conferences on leadership and medical education. Outside of work, she enjoys volunteering at her children's schools and providing guidance to others navigating the challenges of caregiving, drawing on her own experience caring for her mother who lived with Alzheimer's for 13 years. Conflict Managed is produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by Merry Brown. #ConflictManagedPodcast #LeadershipDevelopment #WorkplaceConflict #ProfessionalGrowth #ConflictResolution #OfficeCulture #KindLeadership #Ombuds

Canadian journalist Nora Loreto reads the latest headlines for Friday, April 18, 2025.TRNN has partnered with Loreto to syndicate and share her daily news digest with our audience. Tune in every morning to the TRNN podcast feed to hear the latest important news stories from Canada and worldwide.Find more headlines from Nora at Sandy & Nora Talk Politics podcast feed.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Sign up for our newsletterLike us on FacebookFollow us on TwitterDonate to support this podcast

In this episode of The Ethics Experts, Nick welcomes Gary Ballesteros. Gary Ballesteros is Vice President, Law, Chief Compliance Officer and Ombuds. He leads the team of compliance professionals who oversee Rockwell Automation's compliance with regulatory requirements around the globe. Under his leadership, Rockwell has been named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere Magazine. As the Company's Ombuds, Gary serves a critical role in the Company's culture of ethics and integrity. The Ombuds has a direct reporting authority to the Board of Directors and is empowered to investigate any claims or allegations of misconduct within the Company. The Ombuds maintains a variety of hotline reporting mechanisms that can be accessed anonymously by any employee worldwide; and he also manages a staff of investigative personnel and counsel who investigate any reported violations of our Code of Conduct.

Listen in as Shannon Driscoll (Faculty & Staff Ombuds) shares about what an ombuds is and how you can get connected.Resources Mentioned:Faculty & Staff Ombuds Websitefacultystaffombuds@kent.edu330-672-2219Reach out to the Division of People, Culture and Belonging at people@kent.edu or @PeopleCultureKSU across social media!⁠⁠DPCB Website⁠⁠Intro/Outro Music: 'Fate' by Marquice Turner

Ep 127, Managing Work Conflicts: Celebrating the Work of Ombuds Professionals

The Washington State Department of Corrections has pledged to stop the use of solitary confinement in state prisons, in most cases. And the agency says it has made progress on that goal.But a recent report from the agency's own independent watchdog, the Office of the Corrections Ombuds, says isolating inmates for extended periods of time is still a widespread practice. The findings, published in June, showed more than 1 in 5 people incarcerated in state prison at the time of the report had served a significant amount of time in solitary.  The Ombuds also highlighted 176 suicide attempts over the last decade by people in solitary. 14 of those were fatal. The report was requested by WA State lawmakers who are working to END solitary confinement because of its effects on the mental health of inmates. To find out more, Soundside talked to WA State Standard reporter Grace Deng. GUEST: Grace Deng - WA State Standard RELATED LINKS:  Prisoners still routinely isolated in WA, despite efforts to cut solitary confinement - WA State Standard https://oco.wa.gov/sites/default/files/OCO_SolitaryConfinementReport_Part1_June2024.pdf  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Namibië het deelgeneem aan die tweede Internasionale Ombudsman Expo 2024, wat deur die regering deur die kantoor van die Ombudsman van 29 Julie tot 2 Augustus in Gaborone aangebied is. Die geleentheid het meer as 500 Ombud-kantore, menseregte-liggame en bestuursinstellings van meer as 100 lande byeengebring. Kritieke kwessies is bespreek soos menseregte, omgewingsbeskerming, teenkorrupsiemaatreëls en die rol van Ombuds in verskeie sektore wêreldwyd. Kosmos 94.1 Nuus het met die Namibiese ombudsman, Basilius Dyakugha, oor die geleentheid gesels.

In this episode, we dive deep into the world of Organizational Ombuds with the remarkable Dina (Lynch) Eisenberg, Founder and President of Ombudsology LLC. Dina shares her extensive experience and insights, having dedicated three decades to the role of an Ombuds. Are you curious about stepping out of corporate HR? Dina offers invaluable advice on how to transition into this rewarding career path, highlighting the unique opportunities and challenges it presents. Whether you're considering a career change or simply want to broaden your understanding of conflict resolution within organizations, this episode is a must-listen. Dina's book recommendation, In Sheep's Clothing, by Dr. George K. Simon, also provides practical strategies for dealing with manipulative people at work—an essential read for anyone navigating complex workplace dynamics.

No 1. augusta sabiedriskajiem medijiem būs jauns ombuds, šajā amatā ievēlēts komunikācijas eksperts, filozofijas doktors Edmunds Apsalons. Ombuds ir tas, kurš pārrauga sabiedrisko mediju darba atbilstību likumam, ētikas kodeksiem un redakcionālajām vadlīnijām, kā arī – un ar to ombuda vārds tiek piesaukts visbiežāk – atbild uz personu iesniegumiem par sabiedrisko mediju darbu.  Krustpunktā Lielā intervija ar jaunievēlēto sabiedrisko mediju ombudu Edmundu Apsalonu.  

No 1. augusta sabiedriskajiem medijiem būs jauns ombuds, šajā amatā ievēlēts komunikācijas eksperts, filozofijas doktors Edmunds Apsalons. Ombuds ir tas, kurš pārrauga sabiedrisko mediju darba atbilstību likumam, ētikas kodeksiem un redakcionālajām vadlīnijām, kā arī – un ar to ombuda vārds tiek piesaukts visbiežāk – atbild uz personu iesniegumiem par sabiedrisko mediju darbu.  Krustpunktā Lielā intervija ar jaunievēlēto sabiedrisko mediju ombudu Edmundu Apsalonu.  

SummaryConflict management and mediation are skills that come up frequently as a weak area in many of our social sector organizations. And these days, more than ever conflict is on the rise within our organizations. So how can we work through our conflicts more skillfully and effectively?Nathalie has answers for us. She's a trainer conflict mediator (as well as a Corentus, Inc. team coach) who helps teams and organizations develop better conflict management capabilities. And she's a valued colleague in a broader team I am a part of. Which means I get to learn from her!In this NGO Soul+Strategy podcast episode, I interview Nathalie Thompson, Owner of 5 Fold Consulting, on conflict mediation. Erica's Bio:Owner of ‘5 Fold Consulting', a consulting and coaching firm focused on conflict management skill building and mediationCore Practitioner and Faculty at the Corentus team coaching companyIn short: mediator, facilitator, and coach We discuss: It is often useful to work on task-related conflicts as a precursor to working on relationship-based conflicts.There are cross-national cultural differences in how humans deal with conflict. As a mediator, it is important to first build relationship, to inquire what makes for a good conversation for the person, and how to structure the conflict mediation processThere are also gendered dimensions to conflict expression and management. Society tends to ascribe the term ‘aggressive' to women (negative framing), for instance, when they engage in conflict, while men tend to be labeled as ‘assertive' in the same context (positive or neutral framing)One way of minimizing interpersonal conflicts within organizations is to clarify expectations, styles, and preferences. Similarly, to clarify goals and parameters, and how to do the work. Also, to agree to tackle breakdowns in relationships by agreeing upfront how difficulties will be raised, and to work through the Corentus ‘6 question framework' for dealing with breakdowns.Nathalie is among others an ombuds. This is an originally Swedish term that literally means: ‘representative of the people', and is an independent, neutral person to whom staff in an organization can go for confidential advice, feedback on policy, procedure, or when they seek accommodation. Ombuds are independent from HR and can offer mediation, and raise sensitive issues such as harassment and performance issues with those in authority.The apparent rise in intra-organizational strife in civil society organisations is an extension of the external polarization in society: a tendency to think in terms of ‘one true way' instead of accepting there are many different ways Quotes:“In the nonprofit sphere, people tend to be expected to be ‘so nice'; this makes it harder to exert accountability, and to say what needs to be said” Resources:Nathalie's LinkedIn ProfileNathalie's Email5 Fold Consulting Website  YouTube video of this podcastClick here to subscribe to be alerted when new podcast episodes come out or when Tosca produces other thought leadership pieces.

The war in Gaza led to many student protests in university campuses in the US and beyond. Many universities that were involved in the protests had ombudspersons for handling conflict in campuses. Yet, we did not see them getting involved and helping stakeholders. In this episode, we discussed the reasons for that; and whether ombudspersons really cannot do anything about these protests; what issues they were talking about among themselves in order to find entry points to handle the situation.

Join us as we chat with this month's guest Jai McBride-Calloway about ombuds!Have you ever wondered how to get things done in a big organization? In Season 2 of Harris Health Heartbeat, we take a deeper dive into the heart and soul of our organization. These in-depth conversations start with the why behind what we do and teach you the secrets to how. In each episode, our Harris Health leaders discuss real-life experiences and give you the tools to build genuine, lasting connections with your colleagues. From harnessing the power of empathy and emotional intelligence to failing forward and leaning into communication, our guests tell it all.

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome LeKesha Taylor, University Ombuds and Associate Director of Residence Life for Marshall University. Join us as we discuss questions such as:

Host Austins Jenkins interviews WA's Long-Term Care Ombuds Patricia Hunter and Family and Children's Ombuds Director Patrick Dowd.

The four financial services ombuds' offices - the Ombudsman for Banking Services , the Credit Ombud ,  the Ombudsman for  Long-Term Insurance  and the Ombudsman for Short-Term  have now come together under the newly formed National Financial Ombud Scheme (NFO). The NFO Scheme which commenced its operations YESTERDAY - (1st march 2024) will be a one-stop, all-in-one dispute resolution service made up of the four previously independently operating services.  To explain more , Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to the Ombudsman for Banking Services, Reana Steyn 

Before the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the San Francisco 49ers, we've got a look at the companies sponsoring the game, and a look at gambling history. Mary Long caught up with Motley Fool Senior Analyst Jason Moser for conversation about the publicly traded companies associated with the game, and find out if any are worth an investor's attention. Plus, Mary interviews Dave Schwartz, Ombuds at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a student of gambling history. Companies discussed: UAL, BA, ALGT, CPB, PEP, PARA, NFLX Host: Mary Long Guests: Jason Moser, Dave Schwartz Producer: Ricky Mulvey Engineers: Tim Sparks, Annie Pope Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's episode marks our 50th show since we relaunched it in February of 2022. Over these nearly two years, we've stayed true to our mission: offering a window into the people of BanklessDAO and the projects they are working on that drive their passion in exploring web3 technology and culture.Though a large percentage of our contributors are U.S.-based, we are a global organization working toward decentralization and exploring the potential of these tools.Today you'll hear a bit of reflection on how BanklessDAO came to be, and the personal story of one of it's earliest members.Guest SocialsX: https://twitter.com/McDermittMarvelTimestamps00:01:30 Welcome Bill Ford00:05:00 BanklessDAO vs BanklessHQ/LLC confusion on X00:09:00 Gratitude and the concept of "Itadakimasu" (いただきます)00:12:30 Two lost years00:15:00 How Bill got his moniker, and a lake in Idaho00:18:00 Formative years00:24:00 A life-defining moment00:26:00 Being a Marine in the 1960s00:30:00 On complex problems00:34:30 On kindness00:36:00 segue to bDAO contributors - Ornella, Above Average Joe00:39:30 Reflecting on the road traveled vs the road ahead00:42:00 I've got a song trapped in my head00:46:00 How Bill fell down the crypto rabbit hole00:53:30 Back to bDAO contributor discussion00:54:00 Women in the DAO - RedCrystalDragon, Steff, Trewkat00:58:00 Nonsense Twice00:59:27 Frogmonkee01:00:00 Pope vs POAP01:02:00 Ms. Purrple, Samantha, Jenetics01:03:00 Perchy and the Chippi project01:05:00 The Rug, Allyn Bryce01:07:00 Ed On, d0wnlore01:09:00 Eagle, Rotorless, Katriana01:10:00 John & Erin – List of DAOs and ELI501:11:00 iSpeaknerd, NFThinker, Links, Senad01:16:00 experience on Ombuds. Rotorless, Katriana01:17:00 Fin4DAO, Grendel, BrianL01:22:00 BogDraganov, bPetes01:23:00 Closing Thoughts--Twitter/X handles of every bDAO contributor mentioned in this episode!@thedatadood, @icedcool_eth,@OrnellaWeb3,@Abv_Avg_Joe, @ValeneHeinema14 / banklesschick.eth, @agenthomie, @RedCrstlDragon,[Steff], @thinkDecade, [tesa], @trewkat, @nonesensecodes,@frogmonkee, @MissPurrple_, @samanthajmarin, @JENeticsDesign, @TheFutureisDAO1, @Liquidiot, @thefrankamerica, @jackalpha_xyz, @d0wnlore, @eaglelex_eth, @Rotorless, [katriana], @johne____ (that's johne with 4 underscores), @decentradiary, @0xZFi, @ZombieShepherd, @iSpeak_Nerd, @theNFThinker, @alMithani, @0xSenad, @LiviuC_8, @angyts2, [quietfox], @Fin4Dao, @GrendelMarco, @feemschats, @brianlinzy, @BogDrakonov, @BryanPetes, @crypto_soundman, @TagboWinner, @Tundeeey_, @BrianKnier, @salmanneedsajob, @EurekaJohn1--Today's Host - Drostehttps://twitter.com/EffectDrost--Making Bank is a production of BanklessDAO. The content presented is strictly for information and entertainment purposes. Not financial, legal, or tax advice. Do your own research.We greatly appreciate your feedback. How are we doing? What can we do better?Making Bankhttps://twitter.com/makingbankpodBanklessDAOhttps://www.bankless.community/https://twitter.com/banklessDAO

Kacie Wallace is an attorney and the Team USA Athlete Ombuds. The Office of the Athlete Ombuds provides a safe place for athletes to seek confidential, independent, impartial advice, and assistance with sport related matters. In this episode, Kacie talks more about the Office of the Athlete Ombuds, the resources and services they provide, her career path, her role in clean sport, and her work advocating for athletes.

We're joined today by Patricia Kosseim, Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner, and Matthew Johnson, Education Director at MediaSmarts, Canada's Centre for Digital Media Literacy. In this conversation, we discuss the connections between privacy, children and media literacy. In particular, we talk about Privacy Pursuit, a series of lesson plans for elementary teachers and students focusing on learning about privacy in our digital world. In addition to the resource, our conversation led us into broader questions around privacy, children and youth. Here are some links based on today's conversation: Putting best interests of young people at the forefront of privacy and access to personal informationResolution of the Federal, Provincial and Territorial Privacy Commissioners and Ombuds with Responsibility for Privacy OversightQuébec, QC, October 4-5, 2023https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/about-the-opc/what-we-do/provincial-and-territorial-collaboration/joint-resolutions-with-provinces-and-territories/res_231005_01/How organizations can help protect young people online (resolution in plain language)https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/about-the-opc/what-we-do/provincial-and-territorial-collaboration/joint-resolutions-with-provinces-and-territories/res_231005_01_yth/Companion document for organizationshttps://www.priv.gc.ca/en/about-the-opc/what-we-do/provincial-and-territorial-collaboration/joint-resolutions-with-provinces-and-territories/bg_231005_01/The IPC's Digital Privacy Charter for Ontario Schoolshttps://www.ipc.on.ca/privacy-organizations/digital-privacy-charter-for-ontario-schools/Teenage confidential: Teens, technology, and privacy (IPC Info Matters podcast episode with Matthew Johnson)https://www.ipc.on.ca/podcast/s1-episode-9-teenage-confidential-teens-technology-and-privacy/

On this Tuesday topical show, Crystal chats with Maritza Rivera about her campaign for Seattle City Council District 4. Listen and learn more about Maritza and her thoughts on: [01:06] - Why she is running [04:46] - Lightning round! [19:29] - What is an accomplishment of hers that impacts District 4 [22:51] - Response to ARTS staff letter complaints [24:58] - City budget shortfall: Raise revenue or cut services? [29:02] - Public Safety: Alternative response [31:24] - Victim support [33:33] - Housing and homelessness: Frontline worker wages [34:49] - Climate change [36:56] - Transit reliability [39:15] - Bike and pedestrian safety [39:52] - Small business support [41:43] - Childcare: Affordability and accessibility [43:40] - Difference between her and opponent As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Follow us on Twitter at @HacksWonks. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Twitter at @finchfrii and find Maritza Rivera at https://maritzaforseattle.com/.   Maritza Rivera Maritza is running to make restoring our public safety system a priority because she knows from personal experience that failing to take public safety seriously harms low-income and underserved communities the most. She won't rest until we get to 5-minute response times for priority 911 calls, take home and car break-ins seriously, get guns off our streets and out of our schools and shut down open-air drug markets. Maritza loves Seattle, the small businesses, food, arts, music, and diverse populations that make up our city's rich fabric. Maritza is committed to listening to everyone and working with everyone – to find real solutions to real challenges we cannot ignore any longer.   Resources Campaign Website - Maritza Rivera   Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington state through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Friday week-in-review show and our Tuesday topical show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, the most helpful thing you can do is leave a review wherever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. Well, today I'm very pleased to be welcoming a candidate for Seattle City Council District 4 to the program - welcome, Maritza Rivera. [00:01:01] Maritza Rivera: Thank you, Crystal. Thanks for having me on the program today. [00:01:05] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Well, I wanted to start off by hearing why you are running. [00:01:12] Maritza Rivera: Thank you for the question, Crystal. I'm running because I'm a mom of two teenage daughters who go to Ingraham High School, where - sadly, and I'm sure you know, and everyone else by now knows - there was a shooting in the fall last November. And a student got killed by another student. And our kids were all in lockdown for hours. And as I was sitting - not sitting, standing - at the parking lot waiting for the kids to come out and my girls to come out, it was, you know, a frightening experience. And I thought, you know, the public safety issues in Seattle right now are such that I can't sit around and watch what's happening. And when our current councilmember, Alex Pedersen, decided not to run again, I thought - I have 30 years of public service, I have something I can offer the city council, and I can't sit around and watch - I have to try to do something. You know, I grew up in New York City in the Bronx, in a mainly Black and brown neighborhood - and it was low-income and it wasn't safe. You know, we were safe in our homes, but it wasn't safe walking to and from school. And I moved to Seattle 22 years ago because it was so safe and vibrant and beautiful - and I thought what a great place it would be to start and raise a family, and we did that. And then fast forward - you know, things have really changed in Seattle - and, you know, I got into the race to address what I think is most urgent right now, which is the public safety issues across the city that the D4 is also experiencing, like the, you know, the shooting at my daughter's school, like the - daughters' school - the, there are home break-ins and car break-ins, the businesses on the commercial corridors of the D4 are suffering. Those small businesses - they're getting their windows broken into, there're folks using drugs blocking their entryways. So, you know, these are all the issues - there've been shootings in this neighborhood apart from the school shooting. And so we really need to address that. And, you know, we need to do various things on the, you know, unhoused folks - we need to get folks off the street. I think it's inhumane to leave people living on the street where there's no sanitation and amenities, where women and youth are particularly vulnerable. Lots of folks in those encampments are vulnerable to, you know, the drug dealers who are preying on these folks. We really got to get them indoors. We need to provide services - both mental health and drug addiction services - but we need to have folks off the streets. You know, we need to do better that way. And so for all these reasons, I thought - you know, I'm going to get into this race and I'm gonna do what I can to help get our city back on track. I think the mayor's doing a great job, but he needs a city council that's gonna work with him to actually accomplish positive change. [00:04:45] Crystal Fincher: Thank you. Well, we are going to add a different element into this than we have in some of our prior years' candidate interviews and do a little lightning round here in the interview. Pretty quick and painless - but just some quick yes or no, or quick answer questions. So starting off - This year, did you vote yes on the King County Crisis Care Centers levy? [00:05:08] Maritza Rivera: Yes. [00:05:09] Crystal Fincher: This year, did you vote yes on the Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services levy? [00:05:13] Maritza Rivera: Yes. [00:05:14] Crystal Fincher: Did you vote in favor of Seattle's Social Housing Initiative 135? [00:05:21] Maritza Rivera: That's the PDA [Public Development Authority]? [00:05:24] Crystal Fincher: Yes. [00:05:25] Maritza Rivera: No. [00:05:26] Crystal Fincher: In 2021, did you vote for Bruce Harrell or Lorena González for Mayor? [00:05:30] Maritza Rivera: Bruce Harrell. [00:05:32] Crystal Fincher: In 2021, did you vote for Nicole Thomas Kennedy or Ann Davison for Seattle City Attorney? [00:05:38] Maritza Rivera: Ann Davison. [00:05:39] Crystal Fincher: In 2022, did you vote for Leesa Manion or Jim Ferrell for King County Prosecutor? [00:05:46] Maritza Rivera: Oh my God. I'm so sorry, I'm having a - Leesa Manion, Jim - I can't remember, Crystal. [00:06:04] Crystal Fincher: Okay. In 2022, did you vote for Patty Murray or Tiffany Smiley for US Senate? [00:06:10] Maritza Rivera: Patty Murray. [00:06:12] Crystal Fincher: Do you rent or own your residence? [00:06:15] Maritza Rivera: Own. [00:06:16] Crystal Fincher: Should parking enforcement be housed within SPD? [00:06:24] Maritza Rivera: I don't have an opinion on that one. [00:06:27] Crystal Fincher: Are you a landlord? [00:06:30] Maritza Rivera: We are. [00:06:31] Crystal Fincher: Would you vote to require landlords to report metrics, including how much rent they're charging, to better help plan housing and development needs in the district? [00:06:47] Maritza Rivera: You know, I'm gonna say maybe on that one. [00:06:51] Crystal Fincher: Are there instances where you support sweeps of homeless encampments? [00:06:57] Maritza Rivera: I, you know, we need to get people off the streets. So I do support getting folks off the streets and into sheltering. [00:07:09] Crystal Fincher: Will you vote to provide additional funding for Seattle's Social Housing Public Development Authority? [00:07:17] Maritza Rivera: And that one also, I would say maybe, because it depends on - the reason I didn't vote for it was because I feel like we have all these programs for housing and I need to see, you know, where are we with what the investments we're already making before we add another thing. So I just have concerns about adding something else before we know what we're doing with the current investments that we have. But I think that, you know, it passed. So it doesn't matter, you know, it's the law of the land and I respect that. And I think that we should have - you know, let them do a, let us do a project - let us invest in a project and see how it goes. And if it's successful, then great - we should keep funding it. [00:08:07] Crystal Fincher: Do you agree with King County Executive Constantine's statement that the King County Jail should be closed? [00:08:20] Maritza Rivera: You know, to be honest, Crystal - I don't know enough about why he's, you know, he's making the recommendation to close it to be able to answer yes or no on that one. [00:08:31] Crystal Fincher: Okay. Would you vote to allow police in schools? [00:08:37] Maritza Rivera: Depends what kind of police. Like I think if it's community police officers and if it's in a - you know, what the details around it is - I think I might support something like that, but it just depends what it is. [00:08:53] Crystal Fincher: Would you vote to allow any armed presence in schools? [00:08:59] Maritza Rivera: Armed presence. I don't think we need armed presence in schools, but I do need - I think we need to make the relationship between, you know, our youth and schools and the police more - you know, a better relationship. [00:09:16] Crystal Fincher: Do you support allocation in the City budget for a civilian-led mental health crisis response? [00:09:25] Maritza Rivera: I would have to see what that looks like. Civilian-led without any experience working with mental health folks - I'm sorry, with folks that are experiencing mental health crisis - like, I mean, you need mental health professionals to work with folks. So if it's in conjunction working with the mental health professionals, perhaps. But folks experiencing mental crisis really need a mental health professional. [00:09:54] Crystal Fincher: Okay, and for these, we're going for quick yes, no, or maybe answers. We have a whole section to talk about all the details. So I promise you - you'll get the ability to explain yourself on topics in a fuller way after we get done with this. Do you support allocation in the City budget to increase the pay of human service workers? [00:10:14] Maritza Rivera: Sorry, can you repeat the question? [00:10:17] Crystal Fincher: Do you support allocation in the City budget to increase the pay of human service workers? [00:10:25] Maritza Rivera: Maybe. [00:10:27] Crystal Fincher: Do you support removing funds in the City budget for forced encampment removals and instead allocating funds towards a Housing First approach? [00:10:42] Maritza Rivera: Most, I mean, maybe, Crystal. Again, we need to look at what the proposal - these are hard to answer yes or no because without the details, it's hard to say on some of these. [00:10:54] Crystal Fincher: Do you support abrogating or removing the funds from unfilled SPD positions and putting them toward meaningful public safety measures? [00:11:06] Maritza Rivera: We need to hire more police officers. So, I mean, taking money away from being able to do that, and you can't do the money- [00:11:16] Crystal Fincher: Right, this isn't for hiring police officers. This is money that was allocated for unfilled positions that were then not hired yet. So in this year's budget - where there is money there for them to be hired, but they weren't hired yet. [00:11:29] Maritza Rivera: Yeah, but it's not ongoing funding. So, you know, that's a maybe - because if it's, you're funding something temporarily, but then once you hire the officers, you're not gonna have the money to redirect the resources. So if you're saying the funds for this year's budget that haven't been used, and it's a one-time thing- [00:11:51] Crystal Fincher: Well, there would still be money for hiring in successive budgets. It's just if they didn't use it in the current year. [00:11:55] Maritza Rivera: Correct - current, but I mean - yeah. [00:11:57] Crystal Fincher: So you think it should be saved and added to the next budget? Is that- [00:12:01] Maritza Rivera: No, no - what I'm saying is if you're gonna use it for a one-time investment in something, then that's fine. But if it's not for ongoing - if you need to hire the officers, right? 'Cause the problem, Crystal, is sometimes - you know, if you're investing in something, that thing you're investing in, if it's a community thing, that needs ongoing investment as well. So I just wanna differentiate - if we're not using it this year, then we should redirect it to something else, like the budget in general of the City. But then it has to be something that's a one-time because then for the following year, you're gonna need it to fund the thing you originally- [00:12:44] Crystal Fincher: Yes. [00:12:44] Maritza Rivera: -fund, right? [00:12:45] Crystal Fincher: And that is a useful differentiation. [00:12:48] Maritza Rivera: Yeah. [00:12:48] Crystal Fincher: Do you support allocating money in the City budget for supervised consumption sites? [00:12:56] Maritza Rivera: I would support - you know, I've had- [00:12:58] Crystal Fincher: Going for a yes, no, or maybe, yes, no, or maybe. [00:13:01] Maritza Rivera: Well, maybe on that, but- [00:13:04] Crystal Fincher: Okay. [00:13:05] Maritza Rivera: More leaning toward no, because I think the Fire Department actually has a better solution that I would support instead of consumption sites. [00:13:14] Crystal Fincher: Gotcha. Do you support increasing funding in the City- [00:13:16] Maritza Rivera: I'm sorry, the Fire Department, did I say Fire? [00:13:18] Crystal Fincher: I think you said that. [00:13:21] Maritza Rivera: Okay, great. [00:13:22] Crystal Fincher: Do you support increasing funding in the City budget for violence intervention programs? [00:13:28] Maritza Rivera: Yes. [00:13:29] Crystal Fincher: Do you oppose a SPOG contract that doesn't give the Office of Police Accountability and the Office of Inspector General subpoena power? [00:13:40] Maritza Rivera: I need more information about that, Crystal. [00:13:43] Crystal Fincher: Okay. Do you oppose a SPOG contract that doesn't remove limitations as to how many of OPA's investigators must be sworn versus civilian? [00:13:53] Maritza Rivera: I need more information about the SPOG contract. So anything related to that. [00:14:00] Crystal Fincher: Okay. So again, opposing a SPOG contract that impedes the ability of the City to move police funding to public safety alternatives? Again, not enough information? [00:14:12] Maritza Rivera: Can you tell me the question again? Sorry. [00:14:18] Crystal Fincher: Sure. Do you oppose a SPOG contract that impedes the ability of the City to move police funding to public safety alternatives? [00:14:32] Maritza Rivera: So take money away from the police department to put into police alternatives. [00:14:38] Crystal Fincher: Do you oppose a SPOG contract that prohibits, or impedes, or makes harder the ability of the city to move police funding to public safety alternatives? [00:14:53] Maritza Rivera: Yeah, I do need more information. [00:14:55] Crystal Fincher: Okay. Do you support eliminating in-uniform off-duty work by SPD officers? [00:15:04] Maritza Rivera: Ask me again - sorry - do I? [00:15:07] Crystal Fincher: Do you support eliminating in-uniform off-duty work by SPD officers? So if they're working - doing parking duty, or traffic direction duty - off-duty. Or if they're working in a security capacity off-duty. Do you support eliminating their ability to do that in SPD uniform? [00:15:37] Maritza Rivera: I need more information about that too, Crystal. These are very detailed. [00:15:45] Crystal Fincher: They're specific questions. [00:15:47] Maritza Rivera: Very specific - correct. [00:15:49] Crystal Fincher: Yes. Will you vote to ensure that trans and non-binary students are allowed to play on the sports teams that fit with their gender identities? [00:15:58] Maritza Rivera: Yes, I support that. [00:16:00] Crystal Fincher: Will you vote to ensure that trans people can use bathrooms and public facilities that match their gender? [00:16:05] Maritza Rivera: Yes. [00:16:06] Crystal Fincher: Do you agree with the Seattle City Council's decision to implement the JumpStart Tax? [00:16:14] Maritza Rivera: Yes. [00:16:16] Crystal Fincher: Will you vote to reduce or divert the JumpStart Tax in any way? [00:16:24] Maritza Rivera: Need more information about that - it depends. [00:16:27] Crystal Fincher: Are you happy with Seattle's newly built waterfront? [00:16:34] Maritza Rivera: I mean, as a user of the waterfront, I think it's a great project. Obviously, I don't have the details of the investments that are being made and how things are getting completed, but I think it's a great project for the city. [00:16:53] Crystal Fincher: Do you believe return to work mandates like the one issued by Amazon are necessary to boost Seattle's economy? [00:17:02] Maritza Rivera: Yes, absolutely. [00:17:05] Crystal Fincher: Have you taken- [00:17:06] Maritza Rivera: We need to get folks back into the office if we're gonna get downtown back on track. [00:17:11] Crystal Fincher: Have you taken transit in the past week? [00:17:14] Maritza Rivera: Yes. Light rail. [00:17:15] Crystal Fincher: Have you ridden a bike in the past week? [00:17:19] Maritza Rivera: No. [00:17:20] Crystal Fincher: Should Pike Place Market allow non-commercial car traffic? [00:17:25] Maritza Rivera: Actually, I would like to see it closed off to non-commercial, which is a proposal - I know - that's being floated around. [00:17:34] Crystal Fincher: Should significant investments be made to speed up the opening of scheduled Sound Transit light rail lines? [00:17:42] Maritza Rivera: Sorry, ask again. [00:17:43] Crystal Fincher: Should significant investments be made to speed up the opening of scheduled Sound Transit light rail lines? [00:17:50] Maritza Rivera: Yes, we should do all we can to finish the extensions. [00:17:56] Crystal Fincher: Should we accelerate the elimination of the ability to turn right on red lights to improve pedestrian safety? [00:18:04] Maritza Rivera: Yes. [00:18:05] Crystal Fincher: Have you ever been a member of a union? [00:18:08] Maritza Rivera: I haven't personally, but my dad was when I was growing up. [00:18:15] Crystal Fincher: Will you vote to increase funding and staffing for investigations into labor violations like wage theft and illegal union busting? [00:18:24] Maritza Rivera: I definitely support that. [00:18:27] Crystal Fincher: So you would vote to increase funding? [00:18:30] Maritza Rivera: I mean, I support doing it. I can't say - I mean, I don't know what the current, where we currently are with that work at OLS [Office of Labor Standards], but I definitely support it. And if we need more funding, then we need to look - figure out how to get it. [00:18:47] Crystal Fincher: Have you ever walked on a picket line? [00:18:49] Maritza Rivera: Yes. No - like walked with the picketers. [00:18:53] Crystal Fincher: Supporting. Supporting the picketers, yes. [00:18:56] Maritza Rivera: Supporting - yes. [00:18:57] Crystal Fincher: Have you ever crossed a picket line? [00:19:04] Maritza Rivera: No. [00:19:05] Crystal Fincher: Is your campaign staff unionized? [00:19:12] Maritza Rivera: Campaign - no. [00:19:13] Crystal Fincher: If your campaign staff wants to unionize, will you voluntarily recognize their effort? [00:19:19] Maritza Rivera: Yes. [00:19:21] Crystal Fincher: Well, that's the end of our lightning round. Pretty painless, there we go. So back to other questions. Lots of people look to work you've done to get a feel for what you prioritize and how qualified you are to lead. Can you describe something you've accomplished or changed in your district, and what impact that has had on residents there? [00:19:44] Maritza Rivera: I've worked - so I've worked at the City for a number of years now - I just resigned from my position as Deputy Director in the Office of Arts and Culture, where I primarily was in charge of getting our budget through the budget process. And prior to that, I was in Mayor Durkan's administration - worked in the Mayor's office and worked with a portfolio of City departments - a lot of it related to their budgets and reviewing of their budgets. So I think in general - not just in the D4, but across the city - I've been involved in reviewing department budgets and working to make sure and bring accountability to those budgets. And making sure that I was implementing the mayor's - and the city council, when they passed the budget - implementing the programs and the services that were passed in the budget. So like I'll say most recently, 'cause I was just at ARTS, there was recovery funding for arts organizations and artists across the city. And I worked - our staff did a great job - and I worked with our staff to get those dollars out the door as quickly as possible, particularly post-pandemic. And the department gives grants out to organizations, arts organizations, across the city. So we work to make sure and we were getting those grants out as quickly as possible. So I think these are things that are not just specific to the D4, but do include the D4. True, in the Durkan administration - unfortunately, we were in a pandemic. And one thing that I feel really proud of is - I worked on reopening of the farmers markets after everything was shut down. It was really the first thing that was opened, and I worked with the farmers markets across the city - including the one at the University District - to make sure that they opened it safely during that post-pandemic, not post-, but during the pandemic, actually - I shouldn't say post-pandemic - during that pandemic time. And I'm really proud of the work that I did there because the farmers market was open and available to the residents here in the D4. And I'm proud to say there were no outbreaks at the farmers markets because we were following the public health guidelines, and working with the farmers markets' leaders who did a great job in putting the guidelines - following the guidelines and making sure that they were doing all they could to make sure that there were no outbreaks so we could continue to keep the markets open. [00:22:51] Crystal Fincher: I wanted to ask more about your time at ARTS because there was reporting related to your time there saying that 26 out of 40 ARTS staff at the time signed a letter really detailing complaints against you, highlighted by three - that leadership disregarded City policies, that there was a toxic work environment, and that the staff's ability to do its work for the community was hindered. With over half of the employees there signing their name to this letter publicly and this being handed over to the Ombuds office with their concerns, how do you respond to this? Do you think that accurately reflects your time there? Were there any thing that these employees said that to you was something that you could improve or reflect on? [00:23:39] Maritza Rivera: I'll say, Crystal, that the mayor brought in Director, or former Director - or former Interim Director - royal alley-barnes to direct the office. She, in turn, brought me on - I was backfilling for someone at the time. And, you know, I know that staff - you know, every time there's change of leadership, staff has - some staff have a hard time. And so - you know, we, I feel really proud of the work that I did while I was at ARTS. And I have a lot of respect for the folks that work there. I know change is hard, but we worked together and we were able to get a lot accomplished, and I feel really proud of my personal work while I was at ARTS. [00:24:36] Crystal Fincher: As you consider those allegations in your time there, is there anything to you that you could have done differently to change that outcome? [00:24:47] Maritza Rivera: Again, I just feel really proud of the work that we were accomplished - I mean, that we accomplished together. That's - you know, I feel proud of the work there. [00:24:58] Crystal Fincher: Well, I wanna ask you about the budget, because the City of Seattle is projected to have a $224 million budget shortfall in 2025. The City's mandated to pass a balanced budget, so the options to address this are either raise revenue, cut services, or some combination of those two. Which one of those will be your approach to the budget? [00:25:22] Maritza Rivera: Yeah, thank you for the question, Crystal - and obviously this comes up a lot. First and foremost, I think we need to look at the budget and make sure that we are accountable to the dollars that we're currently investing. So I say that, to say - we need to look at the programs that are being funded and make sure that they're having the outcomes that we intended - because part of budgeting is making sure that the money that you're using is being well spent. And you don't know that if you don't know what outcomes you're getting - How many folks are you helping? Is it really helping? Does the community feel like it's helping? And so we need to do the reviewing of those programs in each of those departments to make sure that the programs that we're funding are actually, like I said, having the intended outcomes. If they are, then we should continue them. If they're not, then we should redirect the resources to something different that will have the outcomes that we're intending. So we need to engage in that exercise before then we look at - excuse me - raising revenue. And so that, to me, is really important - the accountability piece. I feel really strongly - I mean, my dad was a blue collar worker and he paid taxes, and I just, I'm very sensitive - people work really hard for their money and we wanna make sure that we're spending their money, we're accountable to those dollars. And then once we do that exercise, then we can look toward - if we need to raise revenue, then we can look at how we would do that. But I do feel like the accountability piece is really important and it's been missing. [00:27:18] Crystal Fincher: Well, I do wanna get into more specifics here because that is not a small budget cut - pretty significant - so unless that review winds up with some pretty steep cuts or that's the outcome - that will end up, there will also need to be revenue. There were some options presented by a revenue workgroup. Do you support revenue options, and which ones do you see yourself supporting or advocating? [00:27:44] Maritza Rivera: Yeah, Crystal - I can't say now which ones I would support. You know, I'd have to, I'd look at it and see and talk to, you know, folks. And see and then talk to my colleagues and see what makes sense for the city - and talk to the mayor, obviously, as well. So we need to do this working together. We need to find these solutions working together as a city council and working with the mayor. So I can't say today which ones I would support, but I will say that we need to work together to look at which ones make the most sense for the city. [00:28:25] Crystal Fincher: Are there any of the recommendations that you would not support, or what would be the priority revenue options or what you'd be most likely to support? [00:28:36] Maritza Rivera: I don't have - I can't say today what that would be. [00:28:41] Crystal Fincher: Okay, so nothing from the workgroup that you've heard makes it to the top of the list? [00:28:48] Maritza Rivera: There's nothing today that - I wouldn't prioritize it right now. I'd wanna have conversations about it. [00:28:54] Crystal Fincher: Gotcha. I do wanna talk about- [00:28:56] Maritza Rivera: I haven't met with the workgroup and I haven't had the opportunity to have those conversations. [00:29:01] Crystal Fincher: I see. When it comes to public safety, several jurisdictions around the country and in our region have rolled out alternative response programs to better support those having a behavioral health crisis or other issues, but Seattle has stalled in implementing what's a widely-supported idea. Money's been allocated, but it has not been implemented yet. Where do you stand on non-police solutions to public safety issues? And what are your thoughts on civilian-led versus co-response models? [00:29:32] Maritza Rivera: Well, I think that we need to support alternative responses because we know that, in certain cases, a police officer is not trained to handle a situation - but a mental health or social provider or social worker's in a better position to, is trained to respond to those situations and be able to deescalate. In terms of - you know, I think the non-police solutions where there's a co-response - sometimes that's appropriate and that's what we, you know, should support. You know, I think the Health One model is a great model - it's proven to be successful and it's one that we should look to invest more in. Those are the kinds of models that I think have proven results to work and something that we should look at expanding. And then, also - I mean, in terms of in the community - when the police budget got cut, things like the police, the community policing efforts, also - those are the things that kind of go first. And I think those are a really great way of working with community in the neighborhoods to really do, to handle, to address the public safety issues. And so I think that we need to go back to basics that way and make sure that all our neighborhoods have that community policing - community police and those neighborhoods working on the ground with the community folks to address the public safety issues in the neighborhoods. [00:31:24] Crystal Fincher: Now, I do wanna talk about victims and survivors. We talk a lot about victims - people who have been impacted by crime or who have been harmed - but most of what we hear are people speaking for victims or over victims. And we don't often listen to what they're saying, and what they say mostly is that - one, they wanna make sure that what happened to them doesn't happen to them or anyone else ever again. And they want better support, more effective support, in helping to get beyond what happened to them - to help mitigate the harm that occurred, whether it's from an assault or a theft or you name it, some help getting beyond that. What can you do, in your capacity as a city councilperson to better support and help victims or people who have been harmed? [00:32:19] Maritza Rivera: I mean, I think - I mean, we need to listen to folks and we need to listen to - you know, we need to listen to their experiences and we need to listen to, you know, their needs. I think that about victims and also survivors - and just in general, as a city councilmember, your job is to listen to your residents in your - to the residents in your district, in this case district. It used to be they weren't district positions, right? They were citywide. But now you need to listen to folks in your district and make sure that you are, you know, not operating in a vacuum when you are doing the work because really, ultimately, the work is to support the residents of the city. And so that includes victims as well - listening and listening to what their needs are, because you need to be well-informed when you are making these decisions that have an impact across the city. [00:33:33] Crystal Fincher: One thing called out by experts as a barrier to the homelessness response is that frontline worker wages don't cover the cost of living - causing staffing issues, impacting the level of service. Do you believe our local nonprofits have a responsibility to pay living wages for our area? And how can you make that more likely with how the City bids for and contracts for services? [00:33:59] Maritza Rivera: Yeah, absolutely - I think the nonprofits need to make sure that they're paying living wages to the folks that they hire, in the same way that the City does. And, you know, I mean, I think with the bids - that's an area where you can, as you're working with these providers and nonprofits, making sure that you're setting up funding models that require nonprofits and providers to support workers and make sure that they're paying living wages to their workers. [00:34:49] Crystal Fincher: Now, on almost every measure, we're behind on our 2030 climate goals, while we're experiencing devastating impacts from extreme heat and cold, wildfires, floods locally and around the globe. What are your highest priority plans to get us on track to meet 2030 goals? [00:35:09] Maritza Rivera: Yeah, I think my biggest priority in terms of the climate is really on the transportation front. I think - you know, I came from a city where we had a robust transportation system and it meant that I didn't have a driver's license 'til I was 30 years old because I - and I took public transit everywhere. So, you know, Seattle - we need to be investing in a transportation system that's on par and competitive with other cities across the country. And, you know, we've lagged behind - it's taken us a long time to get even where we are, but we need to go further. And it really - I think, is one of the best ways that you can address climate change - is to get people out of their cars and using public transportation. And so I support, you know, the light rail, buses. We really need to get folks, you know, utilizing these services, but we can only do so if we have a robust service. And so we really need to focus on investments in the transportation. So, you know, like Move, the Move Seattle Levy's coming up next year - or not coming up, but, you know, renewal, hopefully. The council, whoever's sitting council, will vote to renew it and put it on the ballot again for folks in the city. But I really do think that we need to continue and we need to expand on the transportation investments, so we can have a robust system that folks will utilize and we can get folks out of their cars. [00:36:56] Crystal Fincher: One major issue that people are saying is preventing them from getting out of their cars right now is transit reliability. Because of staffing shortages, other issues - the reliability of buses has been tanking with buses not showing up when they're scheduled, routes being suspended, some being canceled - and really putting people who are currently riding in a bind, forcing some of them out of transit and into cars. Now, Sound Transit is a regional entity and King County Metro is a county entity, but as you talked about with the Move Seattle Levy and other things, the City does impact transit service in the city. So what can you, as a city councilmember, do to stabilize transit reliability? [00:37:43] Maritza Rivera: Yeah, well, we need to work in partnership with Sound Transit and the county to make sure that we are providing a service to residents that is robust and reliable. But we can only do so if we have strong partnerships, because to your point - we make investments, but Sound Transit is the entity that's responsible for implementing, right? So we need to have really strong partnerships with these entities. And I will say reliability is a huge issue, but I'm gonna say my experience is public safety is a huge issue as well. Right now, public safety, in my opinion, has impacted people's not wanting to take the light rail and buses. And then we've also seen bus drivers that have been impacted because of folks doing drugs on the buses and the light - well, bus drivers on the buses and the operators on the light rail. So we need to do, we need - I think public safety is an equally important piece to address when we're looking at trying to increase ridership of the light rail and buses across the city. [00:39:10] Crystal Fincher: How would you- [00:39:11] Maritza Rivera: And we need to work with our partners on that as well. [00:39:14] Crystal Fincher: Gotcha. How would you improve pedestrian and bicycle safety? [00:39:20] Maritza Rivera: We need to make sure we have the robust bike lanes and we need to do things like the signal - I don't know what you call it - but the signal, when it changes, it lets the pedestrian, it gives some time for the pedestrian to cross before it changes for the driver. And so we need to do more of that across the city. We have that in certain places, but it's not robust. And so we need to do that - those kinds of things - to promote pedestrian and bike safety. [00:39:52] Crystal Fincher: Now, we have a vibrant economy and a vibrant business community in the city and in the district. We have some of the largest companies headquartered here and nearby, but also really diverse and varied small businesses. What are the highest priorities for small businesses in your district, and what can you do to better support those businesses? [00:40:17] Maritza Rivera: Yeah, the small business owners that I've talked to in the district are really concerned about public safety because they've had to deal with, like I said earlier, windows broken into. There's a business in the D5 that I know has gotten broken into five times and have been robbed. And so - those five times - so we need to support the public safety issues. We would need to provide support for the public safety issues that these small businesses are facing. You know, as you said, we have a vibrant economy. And I think that the lifeblood of any city is it's small businesses - it really - the small businesses keep a city vibrant. Obviously big business provides jobs, so that's important too. But right now I think what the small businesses are mostly facing are those public safety issues. And so we need to really work with them to make sure that we are addressing those issues so that folks are coming out and going to those businesses, and the business owners aren't losing money just trying to deal with the public safety issues that they're experiencing. [00:41:43] Crystal Fincher: Now I do wanna talk about another issue crucial to our local economy and that's childcare. Many families are dealing with a high cost of childcare - it's the number two cost behind housing for most families. And we recently got reporting that shows that childcare is more expensive than college now. Families are breaking their budgets trying to afford this, and we can't talk about inflation or affordability without contending with childcare. What can you do to ease the burden on families for childcare costs? [00:42:18] Maritza Rivera: Yeah, so it - I mean, I experienced firsthand just the childcare issues, a lack thereof. And I'm particularly concerned - I mean, I'm lucky that I actually took some time off to be able to care for my children because it wasn't penciling out - what I was making was going toward childcare. And it was difficult to even find the childcare to begin with, so we need to be supporting the opening of more childcare centers. We need to make sure that childcare providers are working - workers I mean, are making living wages because it's a hard job and, you know, folks are not gonna wanna do it if it's not, you know, a living wage. And so we need to support those things. And I know that the City has some childcare subsidies and my understanding is not everyone is aware - so making sure that community folks, you know, in low - in our underserved communities are aware of the services is really important too on the childcare front. But we definitely need more childcare options and we need to make sure workers are making a living wage so that they will want those jobs. [00:43:40] Crystal Fincher: Now, as we move to close this interview, there are still a lot of people trying to make up their minds between you and your opponent. When a voter is asking - Why should I support you? Or what is the difference between you and the person you're running against? - what do you say? [00:43:58] Maritza Rivera: What I say, Crystal, is that there is a stark difference between us in that - my opponent does not support the mayor's proposal to hire more police officers to address public safety. My opponent doesn't support the drug possession law, which is supported by the mayor and which I do support - and which our current councilmember in the D4 brought forward, actually, with Councilmember Nelson as well. That is huge. If folks - public safety, I have a sense of urgency of public safety. I've said, and I've been consistent, this is why I got into the race to begin with - was the public safety issues because of what happened at my daughters' school. And my opponent is not supporting the laws that would address public safety right now in the city - and that's what we're suffering the most from in the city currently - are the public safety issues. So that is a huge difference. I also think that my opponent's rhetoric is divisive. He's named-called councilmembers. And I talked to a voter the other day who said - my opponent went to her door and was, you know, name-calling and being derogatory on some councilmembers and they didn't like that my opponent was doing that. So I don't think that - you know, you can agree to disagree on the city council and still work together. I worked for Tom Rasmussen when Tom was first elected. And, you know, one thing I saw with that group of city councilmembers - they didn't all agree, you're not always gonna agree, but they did work together to find compromise and move forward. And there was civil discourse. And that's what's missing from the city council right now. And, you know, my opponent's divisive rhetoric is more of the same of the city councilmembers who are engaged in that type of behavior. And so those are two stark differences between us. [00:46:31] Crystal Fincher: Well, thank you so much for joining us today, candidate for Seattle City Council District 4, Maritza Rivera. Thank you so much. [00:46:39] Maritza Rivera: Thank you, Crystal. Have a great day. [00:46:42] Crystal Fincher: Thank you for listening to Hacks & Wonks, which is produced by Shannon Cheng. You can follow Hacks & Wonks on Twitter @HacksWonks. You can catch Hacks & Wonks on every podcast service and app - just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to get the full versions of our Friday week-in-review shows and our Tuesday topical show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave a review wherever you listen. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the podcast episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time.

Did you know that the Office of the Staff Ombuds is a confidential, impartial and safe place for all non-bargained for employees to discuss workplace concerns? The team is perfectly situated to help you through any issues you may be facing. But who are the team members that comprise this important office? Check out the latest episode of The Wrap to meet these four important colleagues and find out why the work they do is vital to your success! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on Conflict Managed we are joined by Geetha Ravindra, Vice President for Ombuds Services for The McCammon Group. Geetha Ravindra has over 30 years of experience in ADR in international, federal, and state organizations. She began her career with the Supreme Court of Virginia where she was Director of the Department of Dispute Resolution Services and managed court-connected mediation programs for 11 years. For many years she provided mediation and training for the World Bank Group, and several federal and state agencies, and taught mediation at the University of Richmond and College of William and Mary Law Schools. Geetha then served as in-house Mediator and Ombuds for the International Monetary Fund and the Center for Global Development. Most recently, she was Director of Workplace Relations for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She is an International Ombuds Association Certified Organizational Ombuds (CO-OP®) and a Virginia Supreme Court certified mediator. Geetha is past Chair of the ABA Section of Dispute Resolution, past President of the Virginia Mediation Network, and past Chair of the VSB-VBA ADR Committee. You can find Geetha online at here: Ombuds Services - McCammon Group Conflict Managed is available wherever you listen to podcasts. Conflict Managed is hosted by Merry Brown and produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services.

Stuck in a work conflict? Not sure what to do next? Get curious. Today on Conflict Managed, we are joined by Natalie Landau Gibson, Ombuds at UCLA. Natalie Landau Gibson, a Southern California native, has spent the last ten years honing her skills in the field of conflict resolution. She received her bachelor's degree in Socio-Cultural Anthropology from Boston University and then her Master's Degree in Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs from the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C. With particular interests in human rights, social justice, conflict transformation and peacebuilding, Natalie has worked for a variety of non-profits, government organizations, and public institutions striving towards creating positive change domestically and internationally. Natalie's current role is an Ombudsperson at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she provides confidential conflict resolution services to students, faculty, and staff. When not working, Natalie enjoys reading, spending time with friends over a good board game, and traveling the world with her husband.  Conflict Managed is available wherever you listen to podcasts. Conflict Managed is hosted by Merry Brown and produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services.

Today on Conflict Managed, we are joined by Dr. Daniela Brancaforte, student Ombuds at Georgetown University. Daniela gives an eloquent explanation of what an Organizational Ombuds is and does.  We also discuss: The effects of excellent leadership The importance of pivoting, adapting, and learning new skills Dealing with the uncertainty of the future Approaching conflict by considering desired outcomes Daniela grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and has lived in many different locations in the U.S. and internationally before settling (for now) in the Washington, DC area. She has had a winding career path since receiving her Ph.D. in Socio-Cultural Anthropology from Princeton University in 2000. Daniela taught German, Italian and Business Anthropology at various universities, worked as a consultant, co-founded a service-disabled veteran-owned consulting firm, which she managed for 10 years, and then decided to return to higher education. She has been at Georgetown University since 2014 serving first as an advising and academic dean in the business school and then moving to the Provost's Office to set up Georgetown's inaugural Office of the Student Ombuds serving more than 16,000+ undergraduate and graduate students on the main campus. Daniela never thought of being an “Ombuds” (pronounced om-budz or ahm-buds) when she was growing up, but she feels that her work as an Ombuds is truly a calling that brings together her lived and educational experiences in meaningful new ways. Her academic interests include the intersection of business and culture, workplace dynamics, immigration and entrepreneurship, social justice, and power inequities. Although work is important, Daniela finds joy in playing soccer at least twice a week, taking walks with her dog, visiting her close relatives in Sicily and Germany, and spending time with her husband and two kids. Conflict Managed is available wherever you listen to #podcasts. Conflict Managed is hosted by Merry Brown and produced by Third Party Workplace Conflict Restoration Services.

By definition, an ombudsperson is a role whose focus is neutral and impartial conflict resolution. They typically operate independently from the university and has no official or formal decision-making capabilities. Ombudspersons have been referred to as the “conscience of the university” -- working within campus communities to resolve conflict through identifying systemic issues and trends while focusing on fair treatment of individuals. These campus offices are also important partners with divisions of student affairs and college student educators. In this episode, Dr. Heather Shea speaks with four folks who serve as campus ombuds to learn more.

Sarah is interviewing Dina Lynch Eisenberg, an organizational ombuds, with an interesting journey through her career. As a former lawyer, she understands the struggles of that profession and has found a way to utilize her skills to build a business. The conversation covers the different paths she took after leaving the law (her patchwork career to put it in Dina's words). Plus, she dives into exactly what she does for work now as an organizational ombuds. It's a great conversation for any former lawyers considering HR roles and anyone looking to learn more about what's out there. See show notes at formerlawyer.com/179

Opinion: New bill proposes open government ombuds study. The bill would authorize a legislative task force to study the creation of an office to help provide a nonpartisan and independent resource for citizens to access public records. https://bit.ly/3KzZsNL #Opinion #Columns #Commentary #JasonMercier #WashingtonPolicyCenter #WashingtonStateLegislature #2023LegislativeSession #HouseBill1856 #HB1856 #HouseRepublicans #OpenGovernmentOmbudsStudy #LegislativeTaskForce #AccessPublicRecords #WashingtonState #ClarkCountyWa #ClarkCountyNews #ClarkCountytoday

Ombuds schemes enable citizens to complain about the service they receive – and in the case of public services they play a crucial role in the balance of power between citizen and state. They hold government, the NHS, councils and other public bodies to account when their failings harm people – both resolving individual cases and informing public service improvement and reform.  However, the public service Ombuds system in England is hamstrung by outdated powers and organisational structures, and has fallen behind systems in the devolved nations and other modern democracies.   So how could Ombuds schemes be reformed? What are the options for reform? And why has it been so hard to achieve progress? One proposal is to establish a new Public Service Ombudsman (PSO) to bring together the jurisdictions of existing public service Ombuds schemes, but a bill drafted in 2016 was never passed.  To discuss potential next steps for Ombuds reform, the Institute for Government was delighted to host an expert panel including: Rosemary Agnew, Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Rob Behrens CBE, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Sir Bernard Jenkin MP, former Chair, Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Sandra Verkuyten OBE, Former CEO of the Hearing Aid Council Patrick Vernon OBE, Social Commentator and Campaigner The event was chaired by Dr Matthew Gill, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

Perhaps you are familiar with the concept of "psychological safety", but are you also familiar with the concept of "human dignity"? In this episode, host, Veronica Cravener, talks with guest, Camilo Azcarate, about this important topic. Camilo is the current Ombuds at the European Southern Observatory and an international dispute resolution expert with over 25 years of experience as ombuds, mediator, facilitator, and trainer.    Episode highlights include a discussion of the following questions: What is "human dignity"? What does indignity look like in organizations? Why should mediators be familiar with the teachings related to "human dignity"? How do the mediation skills of "active listening" and "paraphrasing" help support human dignity? Link to related episode: An Introduction to the Ombuds Role for Mediators with Chuck Doran   About Camilo Azcarate:   Camilo Azcarate is an international dispute resolution expert with over 25 years of experience as ombuds, mediator, facilitator and trainer working for public, private and international organizations. He is the current Ombuds at the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Previously, he managed the office of employment mediation services for the World Bank Group and was lead ombuds at Princeton University.   Camilo teaches graduate-level courses at Columbia University since 2005 and was a fellow at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. He holds a Juris Doctor (JD) a Masters in Corporate Law (LLM) and a Masters in Dispute Resolution (MA), the latter from the University of Massachusetts as well as a Certificate in Equal Employment from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University.   Connect with Camilo: camilo.azcarate@columbia.edu camilo.azcarate@eso.org   Connect with Host, Veronica Cravener

Este episodio presenta a Dawn Clements, FCPS Ombuds, y Kathy Murphy, Assistant Ombuds for Special Education. Escuche para saber por qué sus roles son de apoyo e importantes para los estudiantes, los padres y el personal. Ponerse en contacto con la Oficina del Ombuds es un recurso fácil y confidencial para resolver inquietudes y problemas relacionados con los estudiantes. Call: 571-423-4014 Email: ombuds@fcps.edu This episode features Dawn Clements, FCPS Ombuds, and Kathy Murphy, Assistant Ombuds for Special Education. Listen to learn why these roles are supportive and important for students, parents and staff. Contacting the Office of the Ombuds is an easy, confidential resource to resolve concerns and student-related issues. Call: 571-423-4014 Email: ombuds@fcps.edu https://www.fcps.edu/ombuds Ombudsman@fcps.edu

فى هذه الحلقة سوف نتحدث مع دون كلمنتس ال Ombuds و كاثى ميرفى الAssistant Ombuds for Special Education استمع لمعرفة سبب كون ادوارهم داعمة و مهمة للطلاب و اولياء الأمور و الموظفين. يعد الاتصال بمكتب ال Ombuds مصدرًا سهلاً وخصوصى لحل المشكلات والقضايا المتعلقة بالطلاب https://www.fcps.edu/ombuds Ombudsman@fcps.edu This episode features, Dawn Clements, FCPS Ombuds, and Kathy Murphy, Assistant Ombuds for Special Education. Listen to learn why their roles are supportive and important for students, parents and staff. Contacting the Office of the Ombuds is an easy, confidential resource to resolve concerns and student-related issues. https://www.fcps.edu/ombuds Ombuds@fcps.edu

As a mediator, are you curious about other fields that use conflict resolution skills? Are you looking for a field that combines a systemic approach with conflict resolution skills? In this episode, Chuck Doran--experienced mediator, ombuds and Executive Director of MWI--provides an introduction to the ombuds role.  Questions answered in this episode include: What is an ombuds? What are the different types of ombuds? What is the difference between a mediator and an ombuds? How can one get into the ombuds field? Links mentioned in the show:   International Ombuds Association FAQ Section Chuck's article: Mediator as Ombuds A Practical Guide to Organizational Ombuds: How They Help People and Organizations by Chuck Howard MWI Website Connect with Chuck Doran on LinkedIn The LinkedIn Group – Outsourced Ombuds Network can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14059472/ The Ombuds Blog   About Chuck: Chuck Doran is an experienced mediator and ombuds specializing in the resolution of employment, franchise and other commercial disputes. A mediator since 1992, he is a member of the CPR Dispute Resolution Panel of Distinguished Neutrals and has provided mediation and other ADR services to a variety of clients including AT&T, Bose, BMW of North America, Coca-Cola, CVS Health, General Motors, Oxfam America, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD), and the USPS REDRESS I and REDRESS II Mediation Panels. Chuck is a Certified Organizational Ombuds Practitioner (CO-OP) and a member of the International Ombudsman Association who completed ombuds training with the IOA in 1995. In 1993, Chuck completed a Specialization in Negotiation and Dispute Resolution at the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. In 1994, Chuck founded MWI, a nationally recognized dispute resolution service and training organization based in Boston, MA that provides individual and corporate clients with mediation services, negotiation consulting and training, and mediation training. Chuck served as a member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Standing Committee on Dispute Resolution and was Chair of the Qualifications Subcommittee. He is a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association's Dispute Resolution Advisory Group and is a past president of the Association for Conflict Resolution, New England Chapter. He is also a Distinguished Fellow with the International Academy of Mediators (IAM) and a past president of IAM's Board of Governors.

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 3, If You're not a Partner of the Solution, You're a Partner of the Problem; Partnerships and Programs with the Sustainability in Prisons Project (aka SPP). This season is all about the Sustainability in Prisons Project, what they do, why they do it and how you might be able bring your skills and knowledge to incarcerated individuals. For this episode, we interviewed Kelli Bush, the Sustainability in Prisons Project Director; Mary Linders, WDFW Wildlife Biologist; and Carolina Landa, a former butterfly technician. In this episode we dive into the complex web of partnerships that SPP maintains for their various, changing and growing programs. At the heart of this whole organization is a web of partnerships that keep everything moving forward and also ensure that projects are safe and appropriate for the prison environment.Interviewees' Background and ExperienceKelli Bush is the co-director of the Sustainability in Prisons Project. She helps bring nature, science and environmental education into prisons in Washington. She also leads staff from The Evergreen State College that coordinate programs in the prisons. She has a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture Ecology from The Evergreen State College. Mary Linders has worked as an endangered species recovery biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) since 1994. For the past 18 years she has worked to protect and recover populations of five at-risk prairie and oak-associated species in the South Puget Sound region. As the lead biologist overseeing captive rearing and population re-establishment of the federally endangered Taylor's checkerspot butterfly, Mary has grown the project from a captive rearing test trial to a program with two captive rearing facilities, 14 field sites, and nine conservation partners. All told, this effort is transforming thousands of acres of degraded grassland to high quality native prairie benefitting a multitude of other species. Mary holds a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Master's degree in Wildlife Science from the University of Washington-Seattle. This background has served her well in a field where conservation values mesh with competing human values. Outside of work she enjoys gardening, hiking, camping, paddling and playing music with her husband and son. Carolina Landa MPA, identifies as a Mexican-American woman. She currently works at the Office of the Corrections Ombuds as the Assistant Ombuds focused on Gender Equity and Reentry. She is a graduate of The Evergreen State College where she received her Bachelor's degree with a focus on Law and Policy followed by her Master's degree in Public Administration. Her three areas of specialized work are in Social Justice, Disabilities and Immigration. She currently serves as a member of the Washington State Developmental Disabilities Council. She strongly believes that people with lived experiences have the power through voice to impact the most effective change in our society. Partnerships and Programs, oh my!This episode is all about partnerships and programs in the Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP). When we first started researching this topic, Amy the Poop Detective was amazed at the breadth of different organizations and project types that fall under the SPP umbrella.SPP was initially formed as a partnership between The Evergreen State College (Evergreen) and the Department of Corrections (DOC) to bring science, nature and education into prisons in Washington State. It has since grown to almost 200 partnerships. The breadth and depth of the programs that they help facilitate is impressive, to say the very least. While we are most interested in conservation, nature and education programs, we learn that there are so many other types of programs/projects.SPP Perspective on Partnerships and ProgramsIn this episode, Kelli Bush shares more about how partnerships form and function. One of the main points that she makes is that these programs can be started at any level, whether it be an idea from an incarcerated individual, DOC staff, Evergreen graduates or partners in the community (that could mean you!). She also describes how each project is evaluated to make sure that there is benefit to all involved parties. They especially do not want projects that are just looking for free or cheap labor. The primary types of benefits to incarcerated individuals are educational, therapeutic and/or job skill related. She also shares more about how new projects also must be vetted by the DOC to ensure that they meet their safety and risk reduction considerations associated with the prison environment. We chat about how some projects are relatively easy to implement, for example education programs, where other programs are more difficult to implement such as the Taylor's checkerspot butterfly program, which required a greenhouse to be built and potential risks to be considered. She uses the composting program at the Monroe Correctional Facility as an example of how programs can start and grow. In this example, incarcerated individuals worked with DOC staff to develop an internal composting program. Over time, this program has grown into an award winning composting program and they have expanded their composting methods to include Bokashi composting (basically fermenting compost) and Black Soldier Fly Larvae composting, similar to vermicomposting, where the larvae eat through and break down food waste quickly. Here are some additional links to learn more about the SPP Bokashi and Black Soldier Fly Larvae composting programs.She shares more about several programs that are not so science based, including:A dog training program, where dogs live with and are trained by incarcerated individuals. They train dogs for children and adults for a variety of conditions. They also host foster animals, sometimes difficult to adopt animals, from many different agencies including the Kitsap Humane Society and Purrfect Pals.A bike refurbishing program, which reduces waste by salvaging and restoring bikes that otherwise might be headed to the landfill. Then those newly tuned up bikes get awesome paint jobs and they are donated back to someone in need in the community.There are lots of other cool partnerships that we did not get into. If you want to learn more, head over to SPP's website and you can look through the many partners and projects.Kelli shares a little about potential project gaps. One of the projects she hopes that the Magical Mapper might pursue is bringing more technology, like GIS, into the prisons. The other one that she feels is important is a program that supports successful reentry, and that includes housing and employment opportunities. She discusses how she initially thought this work might be done outside of the prison by another organization, but now she thinks it might be something that SPP should help develop. She wants partners to consider if organizations are willing to invest in previously incarcerated individuals once they are outside of the prison as well; helping them grow their environmental careers once they are released.We talk about some of the barriers to new program development such as:A general lack of space; prisons were not set up as educational facilitiesTechnology, computer and internet accessGeneral capacity at SPP to take on and facilitate additional projectsKelli also discusses how a big part of SPP's work is to try and identify the roles and responsibilities for the involved partners. She talks about how communication, clarity of roles, community time investment and who gets recognition for the work are all important aspects to making the partnerships function and ensuring that all partners feel valued and needed.She also shares a little bit about a new program on the horizon, the Evergreen Coalition for Justice, which just received funding for a year that starts this July. It will provide an opportunity to expand support for incarcerated individuals post release. They will partner with community colleges and other organizations to help fill the gaps where needs have been identified and to complement existing programs. They are pitching the idea to develop a program with current community organizations that are involved with SPP to work with previously incarcerated individuals post release.Outside Organization Perspective on Partnerships and ProgramsNext we get Mary in the hot seat to learn more about her experiences with partnerships and programs and in her work with WDFW. Mary shares more about how she partners with SPP to help recover the Taylor's checkerspot butterfly. We're going to focus more on the Taylor's Checkerspot Butterfly Program next episode, but this interview with Mary is more about the partnership and program with SPP. Mary shares some of the ins and outs of how the partnership started and how difficult it was to get support from WDFW for the project. She talks about some of the other partners in the Taylor's checkerspot butterfly recovery program and what their roles are. Partners in this program include Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the Department of Defense, the US Fish and Wildlife, the Oregon Zoo, and SPP (which includes Evergreen and the Department of Corrections), and the butterfly technicians. We also dive into some more details of the program.Next Mary talks about some of the things that potential new partners may need to consider if they want to develop a new SPP project or program. Some of the things that she mentions include that you have to really know what goals or products that you need, you also need to have critical and detailed planning, and in the end you need to be creative and flexible. She also shares a little about the impact this work has had on her and how it has been one of the most rewarding things she has ever done.SPP Butterfly Technician Perspective on Partnerships and ProgramsFinally, we bring in Carolina Landa to share her lived experience as a Taylor's Checkerspot Butterfly technician. She discusses her experience with partnerships and how the SPP program helped her find her voice, move forward, and be successful after her release. Since she was a butterfly technician, she went on to earn her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Public Administration from The Evergreen State College and she is currently an Ombuds(wo)man for the Department of Corrections. She shares how she became involved in the butterfly program and what some of the requirements were for her to become a butterfly technician. She also talks about how she was perceived by other inmates and how the program has grown in popularity. She shares some of the ins and outs, like how they spent 7 hours a day in the greenhouse during the active rearing season.One of the areas that she thinks could use a new program or project developed under SPP would be a re-entry program or a work entry program, which of course is similar to what Kelli was saying! And it sounds like on some level the Evergreen Coalition for Justice will be able to help move this idea forward. Carolina shares her perspective on whether she felt her experience participating in SPP was exploitative. She talks about what she gained from the program. One of the major benefits was she was the first person to receive 16 college credits for her participation in the program from The Evergreen State College. She also talked about the therapeutic aspect of working with the butterflies, being outside of the prison walls, able to spend her days in the sunshine of the greenhouse, and about the lifelong friendships that she made with the people that she worked with. She shares that near the end of her time she had to move on to another program that took up more of her time. She wasn't able to work at the butterfly enclosure anymore, but she still volunteered her time there on the weekends!!!As far as what she would change about the program, she says that she hopes that programs like this expand and are available to more participants and at different prisons. She shares a little about what she is up to now, including being an advisor to SPP and her work as an Omsbud(wo)man for DOC.As far as her experience with incarceration and reentry, she says that prisons are bad (m'kay) and most first timers never think that they will end up in prison. She shares that there are staff that want to do better, but the structure makes change very difficult. She says for those experiencing incarceration it is important to build your network, find your people and community and then you have people to ask if you need help. She also talks about how technology can be difficult to adjust to post release. She shares a little about the barriers that exist when you have a criminal background, namely around housing and employment. In Washington you can have your record vacated depending on the type of felony and Carolina helped fight for this change in Washington!She also talks about how the view of the prison system is changing and how Washington State is making some changes. One of the programs that Washington has participated in is the AMEND program, which brings the principles of incarceration from Norway, where the goal is more restorative than punitive.Finally, she helps us end with a little bit of humor when she shares a funny story about a corrections officer that took her job seriously.Until Next Time…Thank you so much for joining us this episode! We hope you learned more about how the Sustainability in Prisons Project uses partnerships to effectively leverage multiple partners to bring education, nature and science into the prisons and how their programs impact our communities and our environment. We think the biggest takeaways from this episode include:Partnerships must provide value to all involvedPartnerships and programs can start from any level, whether that's an incarcerated individual, DOC or SPP staff, an outside organization, or an Evergreen graduate student and One of SPPs main roles is as a facilitator, ensuring that projects and programs run effectivelyWe also learned that some projects are easy to implement, such as bringing a guest lecturer or developing some educational materials, while other programs are more difficult to implement, such as the butterfly program, which requires learning how to successfully rear butterflies in a prison and building the necessary infrastructure to do so. Please don't forget to rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts (like Tune In, Castbox Himalaya, iheartradio, etc). Please let us know what you think in the comments below or on our Facebook page. Until next time, Will We Make It Out Alive?

Alex Green IV interviews Lisa W. Timmons of the Mediation Tribunal Association, Inc., a nonprofit that is the exclusive provider of an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process known as case evaluation for the Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit, Michigan. Case evaluation is an ADR process that, for many years, was unique to Michigan and Michigan still may be one of the few states that offers this ADR process. The discussion covers the conceptualization and evolution of mediation and its relation to case evaluation in Michigan as well as a recent change to the Michigan Court Rules on the use of case evaluation in civil cases.

The third Season of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke's Building Up the Nerve podcast helps you strengthen your mentoring relationships with tools and advice from both trainees and faculty. We know that navigating your career can be daunting, but we're here to help—it's our job!In the fifth episode of the season, we focus on transitioning out of a mentoring relationship. Even good mentoring relationships can run their course or become ineffective as time goes on. This episode is a conversation about navigating rough patches in mentoring relationships and knowing when and how to move on.  Featuring Ismail Ahmed, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, New York University School of Medicine; Imogen Hurley, PhD, Director, Office of Postdoctoral Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Sharon Mina Noh, PhD, Postdoctoral Scholar, University of California, Irvine.ResourcesSharon references her NSF award. That was the National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program: https://www.nsfgrfp.org/Imogen referenced that every university should have an Ombuds or Ombudsman Office. For example, the UW-Madison Ombuds office states “The Ombuds Office is a safe place where UW-Madison employees can seek guidance regarding workplace concerns at any time, without fear of reprisal, and at no cost to them. Ombuds provide faculty and staff with a confidential place to collaboratively explore complaints, clarify issues, and consider options and resources to address their concerns. Ombuds are impartial and non-aligned, working to promote fairness in the workplace.” - https://ombuds.wisc.edu/ Transcript available at http://ninds.buzzsprout.com/.

In this week's episode, host Juliana Rigato-Piekarski sits down with Michael Wildes and Mergime Kajtazi. Michael Wildes is an Adjunct Professor of Immigration Law at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Englewood, NJ Mayor, and the author of Safe Haven in America: Battles to Open the Golden Door, by ABA Publishing. Mergime Kajtazi is a licensed attorney in NY, Associate Vice President at Investcorp, and a war refugee from the Republic of Kosovo. She was temporarily a refugee, a domestic violence survivor, and is now an advocate for domestic violence survivors dealing with immigration issues.

Frāze – mediji kā ceturtā – vara ir ieguvusi citu skanējumu tagad, kad savām acīm esam ieraudzījuši, ko spēj pieņemt propagandas apmāta sabiedrība. Ne velti Vladimirs Putins, nonākot pie varas Krievijā, ietekmīgākos masu medijus metodiski pārvērta par Kremļa ruporiem, brīvos masu informācijas līdzekļus vājināja un iznīcināja, bet līdz ar iebrukumu Ukrainā piebeidza pēdējos no tiem, lai cik tiem jau bija neliela auditorija. Tas skar arī mūs, jo viena daļa Latvijas iedzīvotāju ilgstoši patērēja tieši Kremļa propagandas medijus, kuri beidzot te ir aizliegti. Tomēr cik spēcīga ceturtā vara ir Latvijā un vai pienācīgi novērtējam brīvas žurnālistikas lomu un darbības principus? Krustpunktā Lielā intervija ar Sabiedrisko mediju ombudu Andu Rožukalni.  

In this episode, our host Prabhjot Punnia sits down with Professor Linda Reif to discuss the role and mandates of ombuds institutions. Professor Reif has published extensively on national human rights institutions, ombuds institutions, children's rights institutions, international human rights law, international trade law and international business law.  Her work is widely cited and includes Ombuds Institutions, Good Governance and the International Human Rights System (Brill/Nijhoff, 2d revised edition, 2020), co-authorship of Kindred's International Law: Chiefly as Interpreted and Applied in Canada (Emond, 9th edition, 2019), and numerous book chapters and law review articles, including in the Harvard Human Rights Journal and Human Rights Law Review.

What's it like going from a zealous advocate in the courtroom to a steadfast neutral in mediation and arbitration settings? That's the question we posed to today's guest, Chris Keele. After more than three decades as a practicing attorney, Chris has joined JAMS as a mediator and arbitrator. He reflected on his journey and what he's learned and is learning about dispute resolution in this episode.

Do you know what an ombuds is? Do you know what an ombuds does? Did you know OHSU has one? Since December 2020, Nic Lendino has been in the role, which they previously described as "offering a safe space for confidential, neutral and informal reception of any OHSU faculty, employee, learner or volunteer with a concern about their experience or role at OHSU." There's more, and Nic was kind enough to join us and expand upon on the importance of their role and how the ombuds can be a valued and trusted resource at OHSU.

In this week's episode, host Jason Harper sits down with leading arbitrators Dana Welch and Gary Benton to discuss the upcoming 2022 ABA Arbitration Institute. This episode explores the topics of getting started as an arbitrator, qualifying for panels, maintaining an arbitration practice, and the importance of being involved with different organizations. Finally, Dana Welch and Gary Benton share why people should attend the upcoming 2022 ABA Arbitration Institute. If you would like to register for the “2022 ABA Arbitration Institute,” please click the link below. https://web.cvent.com/event/64941597-fd0f-48cc-8b83-759067563092/summary

In this week's podcast, Rekha Rangachari sits down with Steve Dunn, Principal at Steve Dunn Mediation and Mediator in the Charlotte Office of Miles Mediation and Arbitration, a seasoned mediator and litigator on FLSA Class and Collective Actions. The discussion explores issues unique to the management of class and collective actions (citing to the deeply regulated and statute-focused nature of the practice), pre-suit considerations for employers, the importance of timing in the success of mediation (NB: to mediate early and often), key tips for preparation in advance of mediation, and the state of case law regarding personal specific jurisdiction over nonresident consumer claims in the mass tort context. Tune in to learn more and connect with Steve directly at steve@stevedunnmediation.com. https://www.stevedunnmediation.com/

Welcome Back to Jonah Asks. In this episode, meet Don Greenstein. I've known Don since I was a child. His mom is my Great Aunt Betty, which makes him my cousin. Don has a background in conflict management, facilitation of difficult communications, organizational development, law, and creative dispute management processes. He has more than 30 years of experience creating unique conflict resolution processes to meet the needs of those involved...at least that is what his work bio says. Don is a warm, compassionate and thoughtful human. I'm grateful we had this talk. music: Bright Eyes "First Day of My Life"OpeningFamily BackgroundLiving above the Vet Hospital in Victor, New York (1950s and 1960s)Don goes out into the field and helps his dad deliver a baby calf0:08Don's paternal grandparents were from Germany and Hungary, coming to the U.S. in the 1890s. 0:10Don's parents, known as "Betty and Eddie" to the rest of the family, met in Farmingdale, New York. They were married for 72 years and knew each other for 77 years. 0:13Divorce Becomes Common in 1970sDon's parents and Jonah's grandparents (on both sides) all had marriages that lasted over 65 years. Nearly all the children of those three couples have been through their own divorces. Don: "I think it was the culture of my generation. It was easier to throw things away than work on them.""It takes two to get married and it takes two to get divorced."On what kept marriages together in the 1940s and 1950s. Don: "Relationships are hard, but I think people of the older generation knew hardships and knew how to work and were willing to stay." Jonah mentions cultural changes, employment changes and opening up of options for women.Mediation: Creating a Fair ProcessMediations require people to give up things on both sides. When people walk away from mediation, if each person is a little agitated, that's probably a win-win. If one person feels very happy and the other is mad, that's unacceptable to me.Both people have to be willing to compromise. I've often thought it would be a great way to set a business model. If this is a hot dispute and you're going to yell at each other, then my rates are going to be $500 an hour. If you guys can work together, It'll be $150 an hour."Business Counseling Versus Personal CounselingDon had social work experience working with juveniles when he was in college. "Even though I have to be neutral, I'm more connected to the people I work with than counselors allow themselves to be. In my work now as an ombudsman (Brandeis University) Ninety percent of the people I see, I only see one person." 0:23An Ongoing Mediation: Getting a Couple to Finally Reach Agreement After Two and a Half YearsDomestic relations mediation. Don worked for a firm where he worked on a complicated and drawn-out divorce case.Jonah talks about the experience of being a child of divorce. How repressed anger impacts families. Unleashing anger in a controlled way is necessary and a relief. 0:31Releasing Anger in Cathartic Way Vs Repressing AngerRicky Gervais' character on the show "After Life" releases his anger in ways that most people rarely do. 0:35Helen and Earl (Lynma and Poppadaddy)Don's Aunt Helen and Uncle Earl were Jonah's grandparents, known as Lynma and Poppadaddy0:40West Virginia AdventureDon worked for an Outward Bound Rehabilitation Program in Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. 0:46Nature, Mindfulness and Self-Care0:52Collective Political Urgency, Restorative Justice and State Legislation Around Issue of EqualityState legislatures restricting the vote and enforcing right-wing agenda on issues of equality around race and sexualityVoting restrictionshttps://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-december-20210:56Working as an Ombuds: Dealing With Those Who Won't CompromiseDon's experience at the university-level with those in power that aren't always open to compromise or other viewpoints. Discussion of tenured professors.1:03Coping with Depression and Male Vulnerability: Opening Up with FriendsDon has found support over the years through a men's group. Jonah has depended on friends over the years for support. 1:11Satisfaction and Wanting Lesshttps://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/03/why-we-are-never-satisfied-happiness/621304/1:14Becoming a DadDon loved becoming a dad. He negotiated for more paternity leave and took vacation time to be home for several months around the time Alex was eight months until past her first birthday. 1:25Practicing GratitudeDon tries to practice gratitude often. 1:30Learning to Let Go (as a Parent)***To hear Don's daughter Alex's interview, click here:https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/jonahasks/episodes/2021-02-03T15_49_24-08_00Thank you for listening to Jonah Asks. As always, feel free to share it with anyone who enjoys listening to conversations and thinking about the big questions. If you have questions, comments or suggestions for future guests, please email me at jonahasks at gmail dot com

Listen to our latest podcast, “2022 ABA Arbitration Institute preview: Learning the Ropes from Case Managers: What You Need to Know” featuring David Tenner, Svetlana Gitman, and Aaron Gothelf. In this podcast, American Arbitration Association Panelist, David Tenner and American Arbitration Association Commercial Vice President, Svetlana Gitman discuss the upcoming “2022 ABA Arbitration Institute” with a special preview of their presentation, “Learning the Ropes from Case Managers: What You Need to Know.” The presenters also discuss the Arbitration Institute's Practice Development Program and highlight the notable speakers who will be presenting at the program. Don't miss your chance to preview what is sure to be a sold-out event. If you would like to register for the “2022 ABA Arbitration Institute,” please click the link below. https://web.cvent.com/event/64941597-fd0f-48cc-8b83-759067563092/summary

This episode covers a topic that deals with the youngest members of our mediation community and the future of our industry. Peer Mediation programs have been going on for years, but it's been going on in the background of the mediation landscape. So today we're going to shed a small bit of light on the programs that are bringing long-term benefits to their schools, neighborhoods, and families. For that discussion, host Jason Harper is speaking with Anne Sawyer and Dr. Pamela Kreiser.

The State of Washington has a public official called the Public Records Ombuds who was an attorney under the Attorney General. This person is supposed to help the requestors get records to which they are entitled from state agencies. Seems like a good idea, until you realize that this is really just the government policing itself. Now, in the third iteration of the Ombuds, the ombuds stays silent as the Attorney General deftly evades public records requests. Follow the Washington Coalition for Open Government by joining the fight here: washingtoncog.org/join

Today we talk to Yordanos Gebreamlak from the Washington state Office of Education Ombuds. We discuss about what Ombuds do, what's changed since COVID, and appreciate the OEO.Find all OEO contact here:  https://www.oeo.wa.gov/en OEO intake form: https://services.oeo.wa.gov/oeo Interpreters are available for all OEO resources!