COFO Leadership

Executive Committee Members

Term: March 1, 2020 – March 1, 2024

Chair

Paul Sotoudeh is the Chief Ombudsman at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), serving as an internally-facing organizational ombudsman to the USPTO, and has chaired COFO since March 2018. Prior to joining USPTO in January 2017, Paul served three years as an Associate Ombudsman in the externally-facing Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Ombudsman’s Office, six years as an internally-facing Senior Assistant Ombudsman for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and 3 1/2 years as a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Specialist and acting FOIA Operations Manager in the TSA FOIA Office. Additionally, Paul served as the president of the Screaming Eagles, an approximately 1200-member 501(c)(4) organization, from 2007-2011, and as a member of its board of directors from 2004-2017. Paul has received ombudsman training from the U.S. Ombudsman Association and International Ombudsman Association as well as mediation training from the Justice Center of Atlanta and the Northern Virginia Mediation Service. He earned his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Rochester and his J.D. from the Washington & Lee University School of Law.

Vice Chairs

Mollie Berg, CO-OP® assumed the role of NGA Ombuds for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency on March 1, 2020. From March 2013 to March 2020 she served as Associate Ombuds. Ms. Berg completed a joint-duty assignment to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis from August 2016 to August 2017 where she stood up their first organizational ombudsman office.  Ms. Berg has a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Anthropology and Visual Arts from Duke University, and a Master of Science and Certificate in Advanced Conflict Resolution from George Mason University’s School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution. She is co-Vice Chair of the Coalition of Federal Ombudsman and an active member of the Intelligence Community Ombuds Forum.  She holds the credential Certified Organizational Ombudsman Practitioner® (CO-OP®) granted by the International Ombudsman Association (IOA). From August 2015 to August 2018, she served as Chair of the IOA CO-OP® Eligibility Committee, and in September 2018, she joined the IOA CO-OP® Board as a Director on a three year term. Ms. Berg’s term on the CO-OP® Board was renewed in 2021 and she was elected as President

Guy Weber, CO-OP® serves as a member of the Ombudsman team at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, starting as an Associate Ombuds in February 2014 and becoming the Deputy Ombuds in September 2020. He provides non-adversarial approaches for resolving issues for employees, external consumers of NGA products, civilians, military members, and contractors, who may bring forward concerns related to the agency’s mission, policies, and practices. Mr. Weber collaborates throughout the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and other Federal agencies to address issues of common concern. Prior to joining NGA, Mr. Weber served as a Senior Assistant Ombudsman (2011-2014) at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) where he assisted employees and public stakeholders, including the traveling public. He served as a program director at Rutgers University (2009-2010) where he incorporated conflict resolution skills and collaboration skills into leadership programs. Mr. Weber has facilitated groups in Conflict Resolution Training and Mediation at Teachers College, the United Nations, and public schools in New York City. Mr. Weber earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Rutgers University and a Masters of Arts in Social-Organizational Psychology from Columbia University. He has a Certificate in Conflict Resolution from the International Center for Collaboration and Conflict Resolution at Teachers College. Mr. Weber is active in the Coalition of Federal Ombudsman, serving as a co-Vice Chair and is active in the International Ombudsman Association (IOA), serving as the Chair of the COOP® communication committee. He obtained the credential of Certified Organizational Ombudsman Practitioner® CO-OP® in January 2013.

Secretaries

Jason Baker is the Lead Associate Ombuds at NIH. He has an extensive background in conflict management in healthcare settings. Before joining NIH, he managed the bioethics mediation service at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He also led the palliative care and chaplain services at UPMC Shadyside. In these roles, he facilitated the resolution of conflicts involving patients, family members, nursing and medical staff, post-graduate fellows, and others .He also regularly guest lectured at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and School of Law on medical ethics and alternative dispute resolution in healthcare. Prior to this work, he taught scientific reasoning, logic, and the history of science at the University of Indiana, Bloomington. He was also a research assistant for five years in a molecular phylogenetics lab at the University of Maryland, where he worked on avian evolution and ecology. He is a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution, International Ombuds Association, and American Society for Bioethics and Humanities.

Marcus Stergio currently serves as Ombuds for the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), a civil rights enforcement agency working to protect workers, promote diversity, encourage federal contract compliance, and ensure equal employment opportunities for workers. He joined DOL and OFCCP in August 2019 and was tasked with developing and implementing a new ombuds program, which today serves as a neutral and confidential resource offering ombuds services to all OFCCP staff and stakeholders nationwide, including nearly 25,000 federal contractors and subcontractors, contractor representatives, industry liaison groups, law firms, complainants, worker rights organizations, and current and potential employees of federal contractors and subcontractors. Before joining the agency Marcus was a mediator, conflict coach, consultant, and conflict resolution skills trainer. He specialized in workplace and employment dispute resolution, providing organizational conflict analysis and resolution services to a wide range of public and private sector clients, with experience facilitating workplace discrimination, equal employment opportunity, and franchisee-franchisor agreements. He has served on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission mediation panel for workplace discrimination and the Massachusetts Bar Association’s arbitration panel, and was trained as an ombuds by the International Ombudsman Association in 2016. Marcus earned his B.A. in Communication Studies and Business Administration from Northeastern University, and his M.A. in Conflict Resolution from the University of Massachusetts.

Coordinators

Heather Milner is an Ombudsman Analyst at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). She has been with the CFPB Ombudsman’s Office since the Office’s opening in December 2011 and served as the Office’s Assistant Ombudsman, as well as two details in the office serving as an Acting Associate Ombudsman and an Acting Outreach Specialist. Heather is in her third term as Co-Coordinator on the COFO Executive Committee. In 2020, she facilitated the first COFO Ombuds Supporting Ombuds (OSO) meeting and has continued facilitating these monthly meetings. She is also a participant of the COFO Mentoring Program. At the 2019 COFO Conference, she presented a plenary session on “Self-ish, Self-less, and Self-Care…Where is the Balance?” She is currently serving on the COFO Voluntary Leave Transfer Initiative and in the past has served as a member of the COFO Annual Conference Committee. Heather received her ombudsman training from the International Ombudsman Association as well as mediation training from the Northern Virginia Mediation Service. Heather earned her Associates Degree in Graphic Design from Westwood College and designs many of the materials for the CFPB Ombudsman’s Office.