MIT established the Ombuds Office in 1980, a time when many colleges and universities were developing similar practices in response to student unrest and the rapid changes brought on by the civil rights and women’s movements of the previous decades.

The MIT Ombuds Office played a significant role in the early development of the profession and helped to strengthen and advance broadly accepted standards of practice.

Reflecting the Institute’s role as a leading technical institution, the MIT Ombuds Office takes a systems approach to surfacing recurring issues and innovating solutions that can be implemented throughout MIT.

Judi Segall, MSW, CO-OP
Ombudsperson
jsegall@mit.edu

Prior to joining the MIT Ombuds Office in 2014, Judi served as ombudsman and director of the Stony Brook University Ombudsman Office for 17 years. In addition she held a clinical faculty appointment in the School of Social Welfare, where she developed curriculum for the social work master’s program and taught seminars on leadership development, organizational change, and conflict management.

Judi is a certified organizational ombudsman practitioner. She holds a master’s in social work from Stony Brook University and certification in mediation from the Center for Mediation in Law. She has served as president of the University and College Ombuds Association, The Ombudsman Association, and the International Ombudsman Association.

Nicholas Diehl, CO-OP
Ombudsperson
diehln@mit.edu

Nick came to MIT in 2017 with more than a decade of ombuds experience in the corporate, government, and academic sectors. He has served as an ombudsperson at the Asian Development Bank in Manila, Philippines, the American Red Cross, the National Institutes of Health, and Princeton University. He has also held positions as a mediator and in corporate communications.

He earned master’s degrees in conflict analysis and resolution from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and in organization development from American University. Nick is a certified organizational ombudsman practitioner and was president of the International Ombudsman Association from 2012 to 2013.

Kalina Schloneger
Program Coordinator
kalina_s@mit.edu

Kalina spent four years in the MIT Music and Theater Arts Department before starting her position in the Ombuds Office in 2018. She holds a bachelor’s degree in music and a masters in arts administration.