OiS Community Ombuds Program

What is the OiS Community Ombuds Program?

Founded and built upon the below OiS Ombuds Charter, the OiS Community Ombuds program aims to provide confidential, impartial, independent, and informal dispute resolution assistance to the OiS community, as part of our efforts to support a culture where all employees are treated with value and respect and to support the growth of an environment of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

In an effort to facilitate access, the program is available to all staff at U.S.-based OiS partner organizations and individual partners working with U.S.-based organizations!

This program is a community-wide service we plan to make available starting in May 2023. It is a pilot program and is limited based on our funding to support it. We envision it running for roughly six months, and we hope that proof of concept with result in the capacity to seek additional support to sustain the program into the future. All OrgsinSolidarity Partners and staff are subject to the below charter.

What can the Ombuds do to help?

The Ombuds can provide off-the-record, non‐escalating, impartial, independent, and informal dispute resolution assistance to employees at no cost to them.

This assistance includes listening to concerns; clarifying issues; brainstorming and assessing options; providing coaching; helping gather information about resources and referrals; facilitating dialogue; and conducting informal conflict resolution, as appropriate.

The Ombudsperson does not provide legal advice, psychological counseling, or advocacy, and does not entertain or elevate legal claims, but instead seeks to inform employees and empower them to manage their own conflicts and concerns.

How to use the OiS Community Ombuds Program*:

Using the OiS Community Ombuds Program is simple! All you have to do is reach out to the Ombuds, Hector Escalante, with your challenge or concern in one of the following ways or submit an entry to the form below:

Email: hector@escalanteombudsconsulting.com

Slack: To reach Hector via Slack join the OrgsinSolidarity Slack workspace, and message him here!

Phone: 209-969-6549

Schedule a time to meet: https://calendly.com/escalante-ombuds/ois-community-ombuds-program-discussions

*Note that during the pilot of this program, Ombuds services are only available to staff at U.S.-based OiS partner organizations, and individual OiS partners that work in the U.S.

Get to know the Ombuds:

Dr. Hector Escalante is the University of the Pacific’s inaugural Ombudsperson. He also serves as an ombuds consultant for non-profit companies. He comes from both a management and academic background.

Escalante holds a Doctor of Education and a Master of Fine Arts in creative non-fiction writing. He served as college professor for many years before transitioning into academic administration. Escalante is a trained mediator, DISC profile facilitator, Crucial Conversations Trainer and a conflict resolution professional. Escalante also is currently a professor at the University of California, Merced.

As an Organizational Ombuds, he works with individuals and groups in an organization to explore and assist them in determining options to help resolve complex work-place conflicts.

The OiS Community Ombuds Charter: