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AORC Director Arlene Brock
The African Ombudsman Research Centre (AORC) announced the appointment of Advocate Arlene Brock as the new Centre Director. Adv. Brock, who has a long-standing career in the areas of ombudsmanship and public service, brings years of valuable experience to this position.
In 2005, after a competitive selection process, she was appointed as Bermuda’s first National Ombudsman for an eight-and-a-half-year term, where she became known throughout the world for her intrepid, effective and principled work.
Between June 2009 and November 2012, she served as an elected member on the Board of Directors of the International Ombudsman Institute (IOI). In this capacity, she also served as the Regional Vice-President for Latin America and the Caribbean, and chaired the Board’s International Training Committee. In 2013, in recognition of her exceptional commitment and outstanding services, she was awarded an Honorary Life Membership in the IOI, at that time only the 14th person to receive this award since its establishment in 1993. In addition, she has served for two years on the Council of the Caribbean Ombudsman Association.
Adv. Brock earned a B.A. from McGill University, Montreal, Canada; a J.D./LL.B. from Osgoode Hall, York University, Toronto; Canada; and a LL.M. from Harvard Law School, Cambridge, M.A., USA, where her thesis research focused on the International Human Right to Reproductive Health.
Prior to becoming the Ombudsman for Bermuda, Adv. Brock taught mediation and facilitated strategic planning and union negotiations as a consultant with Conflict Management Inc., Cambridge, M.A., the corporate arm of the Harvard Negotiation program. Her prior career also included insolvency and reinsurance litigation in the private sector and employment arbitration, as well as work as a family magistrate in the public sector. Adv. Bock continues to serve on the first standing Judicial and Legal Services Committee that advises the Governor of Bermuda on judicial appointments and discipline.
After demitting office in 2014, Adv. Brock became the first person on record from any of the U.K. Overseas Territories to receive the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Award. In this role, she contributed to the School of Law at Northeastern University, Boston, United States on panels, lectures and by mentoring graduate law students. She has also worked as a consultant to the Human Rights Unit of the Commonwealth Secretariat on the issue of the role of National Human Rights and Ombudsman Institutions with respect to early and forced marriage.
Adv. Brock has established collegial relations with colleagues over the years through both AOMA and the IOI. She looks forward to joining AORC with its enormous potential to help raise the stature and effectiveness of Ombudsmen throughout the continent.
Source: African Ombudsman and Mediators Association (AOMA)
