About the Ombuds Team at the STSCI:
The STSCI employees should contact one of the following ombuds below to discuss options for resolution.
Bina Patel (bina-ombuds@mwi.org and 202-240-7388) is an ombuds, facilitator, and conflict resolution practitioner with MWI. She earned her Doctorate in Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping Analysis from Nova Southeastern University. Bina is a Certified Organizational Ombuds Practitioner (CO-OP), a member of the International Ombuds Association (IOA), and completed IOA’s Foundations of Organizational Ombuds Practice CourseShe serves on IOA’s Board of Directors and actively participates as a co-chair/volunteer for the IOA Annual Conference. Bina serves as an instructor for IOA’s core course on Cultural Understanding. Bina has served as an Organizational Ombuds at the Department of Defense, the US Army, and other federal/private/non-profit entities, specifically in emergency response, conflict zones, and governmental and non-profit organizations. Bina’s experience and interests in conflict resolution extend to providing diversity, equity, inclusion, and multiculturalism training. Bina enjoys working with large, complex systems, offering ombuds consultations, services, and conflict-coaching opportunities. Bina is a speaker, researcher, and publisher. Bina holds a Master’s in International Business and a B.A. in Business Administration. Contact Bina at bina-ombuds@mwi.org or 202-240-7388.
Scott Deyo (scott-ombuds@mwi.org and 703-887-2687) has nearly three decades of experience in conflict resolution across the academic, non-profit, and federal sectors. He has served as an ombuds for the three major universities and more than half a dozen federal agencies. Scott enjoys helping organizations build community-centered cultures that focus on people, collaboration, and dialogue to accomplish exceptional results. Throughout his career, Scott has mediated over 250 workplace disputes and, as an ombuds, helped nearly 5,000 people explore resolution options for nearly 20,000 workplace issues relating to communication, respect, ethics, collaboration, policies, procedures, innovation, and accountability. Scott has been a Certified Organizational Ombuds since March 2010. He served as Chair of the Coalition of Federal Ombuds, where he helped create seven new federal ombuds programs. He also chairs the International Ombuds Association Board of Certification’s Professional Practices Committee, which upholds the highest professional standards for certified ombuds. Scott holds a master’s degree from George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution and a bachelor’s in psychology (with a music minor) from James Madison University. Scott enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, and photography. Contact Scott at scott-ombuds@mwi.org or 703-887-2687.
Contact
- Email: Email any member of the STScI Ombuds Team at the email addresses provided here – Bina at bina-ombuds@mwi.org, or Scott at scott-ombuds@mwi.org.
- Please use email for scheduling only. Email and voicemail cannot be guaranteed to be confidential, so do not include any details about your questions, situation, or concerns. If you share your preferred contact method, an ombuds will follow up to schedule an appointment.
- Phone: Please contact Bina at 202-240-7388 or Scott at 703-887-2687.
- Confidential web form: If you have a concern at work and would like to raise it in confidence, please feel free to use the web form below.
- If you would like to schedule an appointment with an ombuds team member, please include your preferred contact information and indicate which ombuds you would like to work with or whether you prefer to speak with the first available one. To share a concern anonymously, please do not include personally identifiable information. An anonymized summary of your comments may be shared with the organization unless you indicate otherwise on this form.
An Ombuds Team member will get back to you within one business day.
