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Kirsi has served as an ombuds in higher education for over 18 years. She is a Certified Organizational Ombuds Practitioner® (CO-OP®) and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has worked with administrators, faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, children, families, and AIDS patients. She is a trained mediator and a member of the International Ombuds Association (IOA).

A national leader among ombuds professionals, Kirsi is co-founder, with Dr Laura Crawshaw, of the Consortium on Abrasive Conduct in Higher Education (CACHE).

She served on the Board of Directors for the Board of Certification for Certified Organizational Ombuds Practitioners®, with three terms as president.

Kirsi is an instructor for new and aspiring organizational ombuds through the IOA Foundations course.

In 2024 Kirsi received the International Ombuds Association President’s Award for contributions to the organizational ombuds profession.

Kirsi is an alumna of Bryn Mawr College and holds an MS in Counseling Psychology from California State University, Northridge.

Liz HillÌýis the Associate Director for the É«½ä³ÉÈËÖ±²¥ Ombuds Office. She joined the Ombuds Office in May 2016. Liz is an attorney, trained mediator and certified organizational ombudsman practitioner (CO-OP®). Prior to joining the É«½ä³ÉÈËÖ±²¥, Liz served as an Arizona Assistant Attorney General, Assistant Ombudsman for the State of Arizona, Organizational Ombudsman for Apollo Education Group, and partner of The Hill Firm, PLLC. Liz is a graduate of Gonzaga University School of Law and earned her B.S. from Northern Arizona University. She is member of the State Bar of Arizona, International Ombudsman Association (IOA), and American Bar Association’s Section of Dispute Resolution (ABA DR). Liz has held a variety of leadership roles for these associations and currently serves as the ABA DR Chair-Elect, Chair of the CO-OP® Communications Committee and IOA Mentor. She co-founded Ombuzz, a blog to help people in the workplace navigate difficult situations, improve communication and maintain positive professional relationships as well as OmbudsLinked, a professional LinkedIn Discussion Group for practicing ombuds.

Connect with Liz on and on .Ìý

Yem Fong has served the É«½ä³ÉÈËÖ±²¥ in several capacities as a department director in the Libraries and liaison to Ethnic Studies and Women & Gender Studies. She has served on numerous committees including the Vice Chancellor’s Advisory Committee and the Graduate School Executive Advisory Council.Ìý She co-chaired the Chancellor’s Committee on Women for two years and is a founding member of the national Asian and Pacific American Women’s Leadership Institute/Center for Asian and Pacific American Women.Ìý She is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs and the University of California, Berkeley. Her scholarship focuses on scholarly publishing models and diversity and leadership issues for women.

Jerry has served É«½ä³ÉÈËÖ±²¥ faculty in several capacities. He was chair of the É«½ä³ÉÈËÖ±²¥ Faculty Assembly for two terms, was chair of the Communication Department for two terms, and served as a faculty mentor for the Faculty Teaching Excellence Program, with responsibility for new faculty in Education, Mass MediaÌýand the Social Sciences.ÌýJerry is a trained mediator and a member of the International Ombudsman Association and the Consortium on Abrasive Conduct in Higher Education. ÌýHis disciplinary expertise in rhetoric includes rhetorical theory, political rhetoricÌýand vernacular rhetorics of the public sphere.ÌýÌý

Maggie HowardÌýjoined the Ombuds Office in December 2024 as a Program Administrator. She earned a BA in Psychology at Willamette University in 2019, and a MA in College Student Personnel from the Bowling Green State University in 2021. She's worked as an Enrollment Management Specialist and an Academic Advisor before coming to the Ombuds team. SheÌýstrives daily to make our office a safe place to voice and clarify concerns, to understand conflict situations and to brainstorm action-worthy options and constructive responses.Ìý