The ASA strives to be a community that welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities. Furthering our commitment to providing an atmosphere in which personal respect and intellectual growth are valued and the free expression and exchange of ideas are encouraged, the ASA is introducing a program to provide ongoing, independent, confidential ombuds services.
The ombuds provides support if you have experienced or are aware of violations of the ASA’s Activities Conduct Policy, which now includes the ASA’s Policies and Procedures for Reporting, Investigating, and Adjudicating Violations.
The ombuds will do the following:
- Listen impartially and act as a sounding board for concerns
- Provide general resource information and make appropriate referrals
- Facilitate exploration of options and ways of moving forward
- Coach individuals to have constructive communications
- Give sound and practical advice to empower individuals to self-advocate
If the issue is not resolved through the ombuds process, the ombuds will recommend the ASA pursue an investigation of the complaint.
What About Confidentiality?
The ombuds will keep all information you provide confidential unless they assess and find an imminent risk to safety.
They will provide entirely anonymized conflict trends and patterns to the ASA to identify policy weaknesses, systemic gaps, and potential or evolving issues.
How Can I Contact the Ombuds?
Email AMSTAT_ombuds@protonmail.com and indicate whether you would prefer to have a telephone conversation or communicate through this dedicated and confidential email address.
An ombuds will respond to you as soon as possible but within three business days.
Provide Feedback
If you have any questions or feedback about the ombuds service, email them to Donna LaLonde. You may also provide comments via the ASA Activities Conduct Policy Public Comment Community. Log in to the community to make discussion posts to provide public comments, which may be posted anonymously.
Leave a Reply