The Southern New Hampshire University Ombuds Resource
Confidential, impartial support for employees and leaders navigating university concerns and conflict. A trusted place to talk through challenges, explore options, and find constructive ways forward. The SNHU Ombuds Resource currently serves only staff and faculty.
Meet Your Ombuds
SNHU faculty and staff should contact one of the ombuds below to discuss concerns and options for resolution.
Fhanysha Clark Gaddis
Ombuds Team Member
Fhanysha is an experienced organizational ombuds who works extensively with universities to resolve workplace conflict, support governance, and promote inclusive campus cultures. She provides confidential, impartial, and informal support while helping academic institutions integrate ADR and restorative dialogue into their policies and practices.
Scott Deyo
Ombuds Team Member
Scott brings nearly three decades of experience in conflict resolution across academic, nonprofit, and federal sectors. He has mediated hundreds of workplace disputes and helped thousands of people explore options for resolving workplace concerns.
What Is the Ombuds Resource?
The ombuds is an independent, informal resource for discussing workplace concerns, exploring options, and navigating difficult situations. You can bring questions, challenges, or conflicts of any kind and work through them in a thoughtful, low-risk way.
How the Ombuds Resource Can Help
How We Can Help
- Listen and provide a confidential space to talk
- Help you clarify concerns and explore options
- Prepare for and navigate difficult conversations
- Identify helpful resources and next steps
- Surface patterns and concerns anonymously to leadership
What We Do Not Do
- Conduct formal investigations
- Make decisions or enforce outcomes
- Advocate for any one person or the organization
- Replace Human Resources or legal processes
- Receive official notice for the university
- Keep records that identify you
Ways We Can Support Individuals, Teams, and SNHU
In addition to one-on-one support, the ombuds offers a range of services to help individuals, teams, and the university navigate conflict and work more effectively.
One-on-One Conversations
A confidential space to talk through concerns, clarify options, and prepare for next steps.
Facilitated Conversations
Support for constructive, forward-looking conversations between individuals.
Team and Group Support
Facilitation and support for teams working through challenges, communication issues, or conflict.
Workshops and Training
Practical sessions on communication, feedback, conflict management, and workplace skills.
Organizational Insight
Identifying patterns and trends to inform improvements in systems, practices, and university culture.
What Makes Us Different
The ombuds operates according to four core principles that help create a safe, fair, and trusted experience.
Confidential
The ombuds will not share what you discuss, or even that you met, without your permission, except in rare situations involving imminent risk of serious harm.
Impartial
The ombuds does not take sides for any individual or the organization.
Informal
The ombuds works outside of, and does not participate in, formal processes.
Independent
The ombuds operates outside management structures and is not part of formal reporting channels.
Frequently Asked Questions
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More Questions
What is the ombuds resource?
The ombuds is an independent, informal resource for SNHU faculty and staff to discuss workplace concerns, explore options, and navigate difficult situations in a confidential setting.
Are there limits to confidentiality?
Confidentiality is maintained except in rare situations involving imminent risk of serious harm or where required by law.
Do I need to prepare before reaching out?
No preparation is required. You can come as you are and talk through your situation.
Still have a question? Contact the SNHU ombuds team.
Connect with an Ombuds Team Member
Whether you have a question, want to think through a situation, or need help preparing for a conversation, the ombuds team is here to support you.
What People Are Saying
Feedback from individuals who have worked with an ombuds.
“Being able to express myself and feel heard. Receiving a tip about communication and responses to my manager.”
“Being able to talk through it with a neutral party.”
“Having a sounding board to talk things through. As a manager without direct peers, I don’t always have a place to process without escalating to my manager.”
Contact an Ombuds Team Member
Submit a confidential request to connect with an ombuds. A member of the ombuds team will respond within one business day.
Your submission is confidential.
The SNHU Ombuds Office operates under a charter approved by President LeBlanc and follows the International Ombuds Association Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.