2025
by Misa / Anake
I walk a weaving path—between memory and emergence, tradition and evolution, shadow and re-enchantment.
Sometimes, I am asked:
"Have I ever crossed the line into appropriation, distortion, or harm?"
The honest answer is: I’ve walked close to it.
We all have, especially those of us born in the belly of colonized systems—trained to forget, rewarded for mimicry, punished for ancestral knowing.
But I made a vow.
To walk in integrity.
To compost what is false.
To listen when the gut says “no.”
To bow when the heart says “return it.”
To hold beauty not as possession, but as prayer.
I do not call myself a healer or a shaman.
I am a witness.
I am a gardener of the unseen.
I pull the weeds of distortion—first in myself, then in the field.
I name the harms that hide beneath spiritual performance and pretty language.
I offer art as medicine, not mask.
I once danced in spotlights. Now I tend the subtext.
Yes, I carry words like elven, ʻaumākua, daimonic, elemental, cosmic —
But not to brand or bypass.
They are reminders of where I come from.
I walk with the intention:
To protect the innocent,
To cease the harm against Mother Earth and her creatures,
To return stolen frequencies,
To birth a new language of reverence,
And to make visible what was buried beneath silence.
When I’m enchanted by beauty but forget to ask: Whose beauty? Whose story?
When I use words from other cultures without remembering to pause, research, or pray
When performance feels easier than presence
When the mirror becomes more interesting than the garden
When I’m pulled into branding over belonging
When I stop naming the harms for fear of losing favor
These signs are not failure. They are compost.
They remind me: the path is not performance—it is participation in rebalancing the sacred.
In 2025, I walk simply as Anake (Aunty).
Not to erase the past, but to let it witness the arc of restoration.
Yes, I have names online—Misa Miele Mandigo Kelly, Misa Kelly Dances, Dylan & Friends.
They are fragments of who I was while becoming who I am.
I leave them intact, like fossils in a living archive—so others can see what it means to evolve in truth.
I do not seek perfection.
I seek coherence.
I seek right-relationship with land, with language, with life.
And I welcome accountability, not as punishment,
but as ceremony.
If you are walking this path too,
Let us walk it together—with strong roots, clear vision, and soft, fierce hearts.
This is not healing to return.
This is healing to remake the world.
I am choosing to put my research, on private, for now. I leave other portions of the website open. But, today, I reopen it.
If you benefit, kindly plant a tree, or sit by a tree, and enjoy yourself, take in what messages might come, what bir
To the field of ombudsing, in the literature, and on websites, it states the office I worked at closed because the senior ombuds retired. My work and Amelia Frank's work is scrubbed out of the history.
The fact is, someone working within the Vice Chancellor's office asked me to step forward as a Whistleblower. The boys were not around much, and I was seeing clients, and moving forward with writing and research projects under the wing of Stanley V. Anderson. I observe, that as time flowed forward, perhaps for my safety, what actually happened at the office never was mentioned, but rather, the senior ombudsman was celebrated and elevated. I just would like to clearly articulate, it is never okay for a senior ombudsman, no matter how celebrated he is, to batter a colleague with a door. Clients were going to the Chancellor's office expressing we are concerned about her safety. The retaliation got worse. Human resources expressed to me, when I went in with the policies and the experience, with point after point and reflected back "that is not ombudsing". They closed the office claiming budget constraints and re-opened it. In hindsight I can see, I personally got played, I was used by the system to oust perhaps this lot of us and establish people who would report to the system. In a recent discussion with a family friend who had recently retired from this University, she confided she had heard on more than one occassion, that the office was being used to report people to the Chancellor's office who were rocking the boat. I could see, from the research I was doing, that the fatal flow of the ombuds model was the fact that the hand that feeds the ombuds is the one the ombuds is supposed to serve as a guardrail, to align with ethics, neutrality, confidentiality, other things. I ask myself, how many other ombuds offices have become this.
So, I've decided I won't be silenced any more, and am telling this story, and also putting my research up on line.
It destroyed my career, but lived moved on, and in hindsight, it was a lot more fun growing my dream into an international status, and I have come home to my roots, my Hawaiian ancestry, learned the language, and I realize, I may have been the female Hawaiian campus ombuds and the first who dove into ombuds scholarship.
So again, the UCSB Ombuds office did not close due to Geoffrey Wallace's retirement. In my view, they used my overwhelm, and my lack of connection and outside support to other Ombuds to shut it down, call it a budget reassessment, and put in people...well, so the story goes.
I was battered by Geoffrey with a door, and it is never ever okay to batter a colleage, ever.
By perpetuating the story that it closed due to a budget review in your literature is being complicit to a way of being that, in my opinion does not align with the heart and mind of the field of ombudsing.
At the time Misa Kelly entered the field, ombudsing in higher education was navigating a pivotal identity shift. While the role had roots in the classical Swedish model, the U.S. version—especially in universities—was still coalescing around shared definitions, practices, and ethical standards.
Key characteristics of the field during this period included:
Dominance of Legal and Administrative Frameworks: Ombuds models leaned heavily on compliance-oriented and legalistic paradigms, often emphasizing neutrality, confidentiality, and informality over deeper inquiry or emotional labor.
Lack of Reflexive Scholarship: Few ombuds wrote from the first-person. Reflective, narrative-based, and experiential scholarship was largely absent from journals and trainings.
Limited Recognition of Gender and Power: Despite the number of women entering ombuds roles, most foundational texts were authored by men, and systemic patterns of silencing or exclusion—especially of women and whistleblowers—were not addressed.
Informal Training & Isolated Practice: Many ombuds reported learning through mentorship or trial and error, with limited access to shared tools, case studies, or profiles across institutions.
Emergence of Professional Organizations: The IOA (International Ombuds Association) had not yet fully unified the field, and regional organizations like the California Caucus were important spaces for exchange—but still often reflected the dominant culture's blind spots.
In this climate, Misa Kelly’s work stood apart:
She offered embodied theory, reflective practice, and cultural critique.
She asked questions the field wasn’t yet ready to face.
She documented not just what ombuds do—but what it feels like, costs, and transforms.
This is a living archive of Misa Kelly’s journey through the field of ombudsing—spanning from reflective field notes and peer-reviewed models to pioneering theories that challenged the foundations of the profession.
Born of lived experience and scholarly rigor, these works document a time of ethical engagement, institutional silence, and personal transformation. What began in a campus ombuds office evolved into a body of work that speaks to restorative practice, decolonial critique, feminist theory, and the courage of listening.
When the office closed and erased her record, she did not disappear. She archived. She danced. She told the truth in other ways.
Today, these works return to the light—not as relics, but as offerings. For those who listen between the lines. For those whose roles ask more of the soul than the system can name. For those still working in rooms where stories are whispered, silenced, or held.
“I began keeping a journal for my personal growth and use. The journal became my primary teacher.”
— Reflections of a Budding Ombuds
2002
Reflections of a Budding Ombuds published in The Journal of the California Caucus of College and University Ombuds (CCCUO)
Conference Presentations at CCCUO Asilomar:
Four Works in Progress
Panel: New Ombuds
Creating an Ombuds Resource Library
Works-in-Progress: CCCUO Journal
Conference Papers:
The Case Study Project: Campus Ombuds; What do they do and How do they do it?
The Ombuds Profile Project: Campus Ombuds: Who are They?
2003
A Campus Ombuds Profile published in Conflict Management in Higher Education Report
CCCUO Conference Presentations:
The Nuts & Bolts of Ombuds Theory
Talent Night: New Works on Paper, Film "Passage"
CCCUO Conference Papers:
The Basic Ombuds Model and its Set of Principles and Considerations
Project Updates: The Case Study Project, The Ombuds Profile Project, The Ombudsman Reading and Resource Room
2004–2005
The Taste of Conversation, An Oral History of Stanley V. Anderson published in CCCUO Journal (2005)
Full oral history transcript archived separately due to CCCUO page limits
Website Publications (Post-Office Closure) Note: After the UCSB Ombuds Office closed and removed all references to my work, I transferred these materials to a personal website called the Ombuds Circle. I dismantled the site when I shifted focus to growing the boutique dance company to international status—touring California, the East Coast, and Europe—going on to help over 1,000 artists through work with the Future Traditions Foundation, SonneBlauma Danscz Theatre, and ArtBark International. After this career, I chose a quieter job in the field of law which enabled me to have energy to manifest this vision. The ombuds files were archived, and people would reach out to me now and again.
Ombuds 101: An “Idiots Guid
Reflections of a Budding Ombuds (2002): A first-person account written after two years in the ombuds role at UCSB, published in the California Caucus of College and University Ombuds Journal.
Recognized the lack of reflective, experiential writing in the ombuds field: “Where are the papers written by ombudsmen about what it is like to do this work?”
Called out the gendered nature of the field and the dominance of male-authored frameworks: “I was struck by how the authors were primarily men writing about something that for me was full of feeling, intuition, metaphor, and art.”
Offered the personal journal as a foundational teacher: “I began keeping a journal for my personal growth and use. The journal became my primary teacher.”
Proposed a list of questions as a living framework for practice: “What do we mean when we say ombuds? How are we changed by bearing witness to conflict? What happens to the ombuds after the resolution?”
Named the transformative toll and insight gained from being in the role: “I found myself with internal conflict... I began to realize I needed to find another way.”Draws on metaphor and storytelling to explore emotional labor.
The Basic Ombuds Model: A foundational framework proposing core roles, values, and guiding principles for ombudsing across settings, especially in academia. Emphasizes accessibility, impartiality, informality, and confidentiality.
Defines the ombuds identity as both container and catalyst.
Establishes a modular, non-hierarchical model.
Suggests principles that adapt to sector and site.
A Nuts & Bolts Application of the Basic Ombuds Model: Applies the model to a real-world academic ombuds office, offering grounded case analysis and operational guidance. Bridges theory and practice.
Highlights benefits of co-facilitation and team reflection.
Shows how process varies with institutional context.
Emphasizes lived experience as key data for practice-based research.
Catch-up with Ombudsmania (Parts 1 & 2): Explores evolving theories in ombudsing. Part 1 focuses on process structure and institutional navigation. Part 2 asks whether ombudsing is like mediation—offering critical differentiation and integration of the two fields.
Charts a comprehensive multi-phase research vision.
Details the UCSB ombuds process using flowchart and narrative forms.
Frames ombudsing as more than mediation—distinct in practice and purpose.
The Parallel Socio-Cultural Evolution of Ombudsing: Proposes a paradigm-shifting theory that ombudsing evolved independently in multiple cultural contexts. Challenges the dominant narrative that it derives only from the Swedish model. Invites a decolonial, cross-cultural rethinking of the field’s origins.
Positions ombudsing within global social justice traditions.
Draws parallels to indigenous conflict resolution.
Reframes “origin” myths of the profession.
The Case Study Project / Ombuds Profile Project / Reading Room Initiative: Field-based contributions that documented and shared the lived experiences, demographic patterns, and educational tools used by ombuds practitioners. Built community memory and knowledge infrastructure.
Collected data to support strategic planning for the profession.
Elevated marginalized voices and non-traditional perspectives.
Created shared tools to enhance practitioner knowledge.
The Taste of Conversation (Oral History Projects): An attempt to preserve elder ombuds voices through recorded dialogue. The Stanley V. Anderson transcript was published; the Don Harstock piece remained incomplete but reflected a broader vision of oral storytelling as knowledge transfer.
Captured history through relational dialogue.
Elevated mentors’ contributions to field memory.
Sought to restore continuity and intergenerational learning.
This section offers a curated summary of Misa Kelly’s contributions—each grounded in justice, reflection, and a lifelong dedication to peacemaking.
2002
Reflections of a Budding Ombuds published in The Journal of the California Caucus of College and University Ombuds (CCCUO)
Conference Presentations at CCCUO Asilomar:
Four Works in Progress
Panel: New Ombuds
Creating an Ombuds Resource Library
Works-in-Progress: CCCUO Journal
Conference Papers:
The Case Study Project: Campus Ombuds; What do they do and How do they do it?
The Ombuds Profile Project: Campus Ombuds: Who are They?
2003
A Campus Ombuds Profile published in Conflict Management in Higher Education Report
CCCUO Conference Presentations:
The Nuts & Bolts of Ombuds Theory
Talent Night: New Works on Paper, Film "Passage"
CCCUO Conference Papers:
The Basic Ombuds Model and its Set of Principles and Considerations
Project Updates: The Case Study Project, The Ombuds Profile Project, The Ombudsman Reading and Resource Room
2004–2005
The Taste of Conversation, An Oral History of Stanley V. Anderson published in CCCUO Journal (2005)
Full oral history transcript archived separately due to CCCUO page limits
Website Publications (Post-Office Closure) Note: After the UCSB Ombuds Office closed and removed all references to my work, I transferred these materials to a personal website called the Ombuds Circle. I dismantled the site when I shifted focus to growing the boutique dance company to international status—touring California, the East Coast, and Europe—going on to help over 1,000 artists through work with the Future Traditions Foundation, SonneBlauma Danscz Theatre, and ArtBark International. After this career, I chose a quieter job in the field of law which enabled me to have energy to manifest this vision. The ombuds files were archived, and people would reach out to me now and again.
Ombuds 101: An “Idiots Guide” to Ombudsing (This project was dropped)
The Basic Ombuds Model (Peer-reviewed and completed)
A Nuts & Bolts Application of the Basic Ombuds Model: an Academic Ombuds Office Study (Peer-reviewed and completed)
Catch-up with Ombudsmania: Part 1 – A Campus Ombuds Process (Peer-reviewed and completed)
Catch-up with Ombudsmania: Part 2 – Is Ombudsing Like Mediation? (Peer-reviewed and completed)
The Parallel Socio-Cultural Evolution of Ombudsing (Peer-reviewed and completed)
The Taste of Conversation, an Oral History of Don Harstock (Let go of completing this beyond a presentation form; no copy of the video oral history remains)
The History of the Categorization of Ombudsmen (Also let this go)
A few predictable elements in life include birth, death, and unexpected twists and turns. Unexpectedly, I'm no longer directly working in the field of ombudsing. My mysterious muse is having his/her way and I find myself journeying down a different pathway. The skillset gleaned from my work as an ombudsman is being put to good use as an Artistic Director, Dance Company Manager, and Executive Director of the Future Traditions Foundation.
So, for now, my ombudsing passion simmers on the back burner in an intoxicating and inviting stew of things yet to accomplish in life & I've archived the Ombudsman's Circle.
Projects I'd Love to Revive Someday:
The Cross Sector Studies Project
Update the Ombuds Reading Room
Expand the Case Study Library
Expand the Annual Report Library
Update and Refine: Ombuds 101
Expand the Ombuds Profile Project
Revitalize the Ombuds Oral History Project
Recreate the Ombuds Calendar
Bring the Employment Opportunities Page up to date