Conference Ombuds Service: A Trusted Resource for Inclusive Events
Conferences provide many social and educational benefits to attendees, presenters, organizers, exhibitors, and sponsors. A successful conference should be a safe, welcoming, and inclusive experience for all attendees. But what happens when an attendee needs to raise a concern? Even properly trained staff cannot provide impartial, independent, and confidential services necessary to process all complaints and concerns. To ensure that attendees are supported at your next conference, consider the benefits of an outsourced ombuds. MWI’s conference ombuds team members will provide informal, independent, impartial, and confidential support to your attendees and help resolve concerns before they escalate.
MWI’s Conference Ombuds services support organizations and attendees by fostering open communication, resolving concerns, and creating a safe, inclusive environment. Available before, during, and after your event, our Ombuds provide a confidential, impartial resource for addressing challenges and offering solutions.
Before the Conference
Our Ombuds collaborate with your association to:
Develop an Ombuds Charter that defines the scope of services.
Create a communication plan to inform attendees about the Ombuds’ role and availability.
During the Conference
Ombuds are accessible to:
Listen confidentially to concerns.
Help attendees brainstorm ways to address and resolve logistical, interpersonal, or event-related challenges.
Informally mediate conflicts between attendees, exhibitors, or organizers.
Provide guidance on addressing difficult situations.
Collect anonymous feedback to share with the organization.
After the Conference
Ombuds continue to:
Address unresolved concerns or new issues raised post-conference.
Deliver a detailed, anonymized trends summary to help organizations enhance future events, update policies, and refine procedures.
With a Conference Ombuds on your team, you’re not just running an event but creating a space where every participant feels supported and valued. Let us help you make your next conference a model of inclusivity and excellence.
Charmhee Kim is an experienced ombuds and cross-cultural trainer with MWI. She was an ombuds for 15 years at McKinsey & Company, a global management consultancy, addressing workplace conflicts, career development concerns and other challenges. She has been an active member of the International Ombuds Association (IOA) since 2007 and was trained in its Foundations of Organizational Ombudsman Practice Course which she later taught as faculty. Charmhee served on the IOA Board of Directors and co-chaired its Global Marketing Task Force. Prior to entering the ombuds profession, Charmhee worked as a management consultant, investment banker and public affairs specialist with the United Nations. She holds an MBA from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and an MA from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Charmhee is trilingual in English, Korean and Mandarin Chinese.
Josh Hoch is an experienced ombuds, mediator, and instructor with MWI since 2001. He is the Director of Ombuds & Mediation Services, overseeing MWI’s Outsourced Ombuds Panel and Conference Ombuds. He has provided ombuds services for notable clients such as CVS Health, Arapahoe Basin, and John Moriarty & Associates. Josh collaborates with organizations seeking conference ombuds services and mediates a diverse range of case types. As MWI’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) liaison, he manages employment and higher education referrals for MWI mediators nationwide. Additionally, Josh conducts advanced mediation training for various clients, including the Executive Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court. He is an active member of the International Ombuds Association (IOA) and the East Coast Ombuds Group (ECOG). With over 24 years at MWI, Josh brings a wealth of experience to his work in conflict resolution.
Workplace & Employment Mediator, CLC Inc., Granite Bay, CA (June 2022 – present)
World Mediators Alliance on Climate Change Green Pledge (July 2021 – present)
Designed and administered a court-approved Parent Education Program for the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court Department (2016 – 2021)
Speaker, New England Association of Conflict Resolution (April 2021)
Designed and supervised a mediation program at the Norfolk Probate and Family Court (September 2013 – 2020)
Served on the Assistant Judicial Case Manager (AJCM) Transition Working Group for the Chief Justice of the Probate and Family Court in 2019
Served on the ADR Education Subcommittee for the Massachusetts Trial Court in 2019
Received recognition for outstanding performance and lasting contributions to the MA AFCC Chapter
Served for six years – Board of Directors, Massachusetts Oyster Project
Served for seven years – Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Chapter of AFCC
Past Member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
Past Member of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
Past Member of the Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation
Past Member of the New England Chapter of the Association for Conflict Resolution
Served as Treasurer for an annual fundraiser for Jimmy Fund Clinic patients and their families, helping to raise over $500,000
Lectures and ADR Trainings Conducted
Trainer, Mediation and Conciliation Trainer, Executive Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court (June 2023 – Present)
Presenter, Organizational Ombuds as a Profession, Things a Mediator Might Want to Know About This Unique Role, Rhode Island Mediators Association (April 2023)
Presenter, Tools for Becoming a More Effective Mediator, Community Dispute Settlement Center (March 2023)
Understanding the Ombuds Resource On-site at MWI client locations (October 2021 – June 2023)
Mediation Trainer for Staff of the Boston Municipal Court Department, Executive Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court (June 2022 – present)
Trainer, Harassment Prevention Mediation Training Program for Mediation Programs in the Juvenile Court Department, Executive Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court (June 2022 – present)
Trainer, Dispute Resolution Trainer for Probate and Family Court Staff, Executive Office of the Massachusetts Trial Court (June 2022 – present)
Advanced Divorce Mediation Training Instructor at MWI (April 2005 – June 2022)
Provided individual mentoring to mediators looking to increase their effectiveness as mediators (June 2003 – June 2022)
Advanced Mediation Skill Building Trainer for a Community Mediation Program (January 2022)
Facilitator, Implicit Bias Workshop (May 2021)
Trainer, Basic Mediation Training Program for the Housing Court Department of the Massachusetts Trial Court (October 2021)
Trainer, Advanced Dispute Resolution Training for Probation Officers of the Probate and Family Court (March & June 2021)
Trainer, Juvenile Mediation Training, 2-day Advanced Mediation Training Program (March 2021)
Presenter, Bringing Mediation Online: Lessons Learned So Far, Massachusetts Council for Family Mediation (February 2021)
Trainer, Housing, and Eviction Mediation Training for five Massachusetts Community Mediation Centers (December 2020 – January 2021)
Designed and served as an instructor for an Advanced Dispute Resolution Training Program for Probation Officers of the Probate and Family Court. (May 2019 – June 2021)
Norfolk Probate and Family Court Department, mediation program mentor and supervisor (2013 – 2020)
AFCC’s 54th Annual Conference: Turning the Kaleidoscope of Family Conflict into a Prism of Harmony, Conference Presenter (May 2017)
Community Dispute Settlement Center (CDSC), Housing Mediation Trainer (February 2017)
International Academic Institute of Mediation, Conference Presenter, Divorce Mediation in the Courts, (September 2015)
Advanced Refresher Mediation Skills Training Program, Presenter (2015 – 2016)
New England Chapter of the Association for Conflict Resolution Biennial Regional Conference, Presenter, “I’m a Trained Mediator, Now What do I Do?” (June 2015)
Massachusetts Council on Family Mediation, Presenter, On-site mediation project in the Norfolk Probate and Family Court Department, (2014)
Emerson College, Guest Speaker (2014 – 2016)
New England Law | Boston, Ethical Standards, Presenter, (2005 – 2013)
Liaison for Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Mediation Practicum (2001 – 2011)
A Child’s Voice in Court: How to Get It, How to Interpret It and How to Use It, Panel Speaker, (2008)
Coca-Cola Enterprise Inc., Trainer. Trained over 950 employees in dispute resolution and communication skills and educated over 1700 employees through briefings (Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, New York, Vermont) (2004 – 2006)
Harvard Law School, Intern Fair, Cambridge, MA, Presenter, (2005)
Simmons College Graduate School of Social Work, Guest Lecturer, Parent-Teen Mediation (2004)
Boston University Law School, Court Connected ADR, Guest Speaker, (2003 – 2008)
Hale and Dorr Legal Services Center, Divorce Mediation Presenter, (2003 – 2004)
Newton and Lexington Community Education, Presenter: Divorce Information You Want to Know, (2003 – 2005)
Germaine Lawrence, Family Communication Workshop, Facilitator, (2001 – 2005)
Southern New England School of Law, Mediation Trainer and Coach (2001 – 2004)
Nnena Odim is a mediator, ombuds, attorney, trainer, and consultant with over 25 years of experience. She serves as a conference ombuds for clients, including the American Economic Association (AEA), American Planning Association (APA), and the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF). Nnena’s role as a conference ombuds highlights her expertise in conflict resolution, providing support, and fostering healthy environments for professionals during large-scale events.
Her extensive mediation experience since 1997 spans a variety of disputes, including employment, housing, business, and family/domestic relations matters. Nnena has designed and led conflict management trainings for organizations like the Boston Public Schools, Coca-Cola, and Netflix. She has been trained by the International Ombuds Association and has served as an ombuds for companies like CVS Health, John Moriarty and Associates, and the American Economic Association.
She recently retired from Harvard Law School, where she served as the Director and Senior Clinical Instructor of the Family/Domestic Violence Law Clinic. Nnena remains an active attorney and is committed to training future legal professionals. She has also collaborated with the Harvard Mediation Program and the Harvard Program on Negotiation, providing trainings and supervision to students.
Caitlan Hendrickson is a Certified Organizational Ombuds Practitioner (CO-OP) with over eighteen years of experience in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and over a decade of experience leading ADR offices in large multicultural organizations. With extensive experience working in a wide variety of settings – including in higher education, healthcare, court, government, and non-profit organizations – she enjoys tailoring her extensive experience and training in conflict engagement practices and human relations to the unique needs of the individuals, groups, and organizations she serves, whether they are small non-profits or large, complex institutions. Caitlan has been a member of the International Ombuds Association since 2011 and brings a background in Ombuds work that is truly multidisciplinary, bridging countless academic disciplines, healthcare, research and innovation, emergency response, and social service. She entered the Ombuds profession as a mediator and restorative justice practitioner with extensive experience working with disadvantaged and marginalized communities in the social service sector, where she specialized in multicultural inclusion and trauma-informed work. Caitlan sees conflict and other challenges as potent opportunities for learning, growth, and transformation on individual, group, and organizational/systemic levels, and enjoys the process of facilitating evolution on each level. She holds a M.Ed. in Human Relations and graduate certificate in Educational Technology – Adult Learning & Training, and is currently completing a doctorate in leadership. As a fluent Spanish speaker, she provides Ombuds services in both English and Spanish.
Conference and organizational ombuds provide an impartial, confidential, informal, and independent resource for companies, organizations, colleges and universities, conferences, and annual meetings.
Another option to consider is having MWI provide outsourced ombuds services throughout the year to your organization. Members benefit by having access to ombuds services when needed. MWI provides leadership with a summary of activity and identifies systematic trends or issues the organization could address to improve its climate beyond individual conferences. Employees with an ombuds team resource often feel more valued, heard, and appreciated.
For More Information
For more information, contact MWI’s Director of Ombuds, Josh Hoch, at jhoch@mwi.org or 617-895-4028. To schedule a time to speak with Josh, click here.
