An Explanation about the Need for and Beauty of our Code of Conduct

by Ronza Othman

From the Editor: Ronza is well known to readers. She holds down a fulltime job working as director of Equal Opportunity Compliance at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services. In addition, she is our state president in Maryland, is active everywhere, and has given a lot of her heart and mind to working as the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Feedback Committee. Here is her request of us as we work to make our Federation the kind of place where anyone would be glad to visit and participate:

"Why do we even need a Code of Conduct?” Many of us have heard this question or some iteration of it over the last six or so years as we worked to conceptualize, then articulate, then socialize the NFB Code of Conduct. As an organization we heard it again as we made updates and process improvements. We heard sentiments like, "We shouldn’t need a document to tell us how to get along with each other,” or “no document is going to ever cover every potential situation,” or “I don’t want to be treated like a child to be told what I can and can’t do.”

But others shared, “I’m so glad there are some concrete policies that everyone is expected to follow,” “The Code of Conduct just puts on paper what we’ve always expected of our members and participants, and it’s a good thing to all be on the same page,” and “I like that we are in lockstep with society by incorporating principles and guidance on these areas.” We also heard everything in between.

It is our charge, as the NFB Code of Conduct Feedback Committee, to engage with the membership about the Code of Conduct, how to improve and enhance it, and how to make it accessible and available to all. The Code sets out guidance for how members of the Federation should comport ourselves. It establishes the minimum standard for how we should interact to ensure the safety, full participation, and inclusion of our members, participants, employees, guests, and volunteers. As we evolve as a community, our Code evolves, and we are doing our best to get it right. To get it right though, we need all of you.

In early 2018 the NFB adopted a Code of Conduct, which provided policy guidance in a variety of areas, including anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, prevention of and response to sexual and other misconduct, conflict of interest, and other important categories. The work to think through what the Code should include and how to articulate its principles began several years before its 2018 adoption. Since 2018, the Code has been updated and enhanced several times. Most recently, the NFB Board of Directors updated a revised Code in December of 2021.

As part of the most recent iteration of the NFB Code of Conduct, Article XI included language that enhanced and more clearly spelled out how the Code would be reviewed. “The President shall appoint a Code of Conduct Committee that will review data and procedures regarding reports filed under this Code. The Committee will monitor actions under this Code, gather feedback from the Federation community about the Code, assist in educating the community about the Code and procedures, and make recommendations to the National Federation of the Blind Board of Directors as needed.”

In early 2022, President Riccobono appointed the Code of Conduct Feedback Committee to undertake this work. This Committee is representative of the membership in that it consists of leaders and non-elected members from across the Federation. Some of the Committee members are long-time Federationists, and others are fairly new. The Committee includes mental health professionals, teachers, mediators, parents of blind children, crisis support personnel, and a variety of other professions. The members range from recent graduate to retiree. The Committee is a cross section of the organization, but also each member has a particular skillset or background that makes this work particularly meaningful to them.

As part of our charge, we are soliciting feedback and suggestions from the Federation community about the Code of Conduct and its associated processes. We recognize that some have participated in the Code of Conduct, perhaps as a filer, complainant, respondent, witness, or a responsible leader. We are very interested in feedback on the participant experience, and we are committing to receiving that feedback in a manner that is both trauma informed and protects confidentiality. However, we will caution that the Code of Conduct Feedback Committee is not able to assess outcomes of matters brought under the Code.

We also recognize that there are some who have not yet fully bought into the Code. We are interested to hear from these individuals as to their perspectives as well. We want to assess barriers to participation in the Code process, including attitudinal barriers, access barriers, and other barriers we have not yet contemplated.

We want the Federation community to think about what, if any, aspects of the Code the Board should enhance, augment, or change. We want feedback on how the Code could be socialized more widely and how to get buy-in from individuals who have not yet done so. We want to know how to enhance the training mechanisms and resources that are available. We want to know what has worked, what hasn’t, and what ideas people have that could work in the future.

To that end, we are inviting individuals to engage with us. Those wishing to share feedback and suggestions are encouraged to email the Code of Conduct Feedback Committee at [email protected] or call us at 410-659-9314, extension 2284. We plan to hold some office hours at the 2022 NFB National Convention, where we will be on hand to speak individually and in person with those who would like to engage with us. We also plan to send out a survey this fall to the NFB community. If people have additional suggestions about how we can engage with the membership, please share those ideas with us at the email address or phone number provided.

We want to make sure the NFB Code of Conduct is effective, fair, and easy to understand. We also want to ensure that people feel comfortable and safe using it if they need to do so. We want it to be accessible, meaningful, and usable. We want the participant experience to be as easy as it can be. We want people to trust in the Code and its processes. And we want it to be representative of what our community wants and needs it to be. We are asking you to help us in this effort.