Shush-Free Zone - Where librarians get loud!
The Shush-Free Zone, hosted by KM consultant and librarian Dawn Brushammar, explores the creative and unconventional careers of librarians who are redefining the profession. From tech to startups to schools to corporate boardrooms, tune in to hear their stories and get inspired.
Recent Episodes
April 30, 2026
Episode 11: Nicole Buckenwolf - From Rare Books to Ontologies: A Librarian Inside Spotify
In this episode of The Shush-Free Zone , host Dawn Brushammar sits down with Nicole Buckenwolf, Senior Staff Ontologist at Spotify, to unpack the invisible knowledge systems shaping how millions of people discover music and a...
April 2, 2026
Episode 10: Heather Johnson - Information to Impact: Saving Lives in Public Health
In this episode of Shush Free Zone , host Dawn Brushammar sits down with Heather Johnson - a public health professional working at the intersection of evidence synthesis, health communication, and implementation science. Heat...
March 5, 2026
Episode 9: Angela Pashia - Empowering Library Leaders Through Coaching and Curiosity
In this episode of the Shush Free Zone, host Dawn Brushammar speaks with Angela Pashia, a leadership and career development coach, about her journey from academic librarian to coaching library professionals. They discuss the ...
Feb. 5, 2026
Episode 8: Matthew Noe - Comics, Patients, and the Power of Storytelling: The Fascinating World of Graphic Medicine
In this episode of The Shush-Free Zone , host Dawn Brushammar speaks with Matthew Noe, a health sciences librarian at Harvard Medical School who specializes in graphic medicine. Matthew shares his path into librarianship, how...
Jan. 1, 2026
Episode 7: Jessica Talisman - From Card Catalogs to Ontologies: Building Knowledge Systems for Humans and AI
In this episode of The Shush Free Zone , host Dawn Brushammar talks with Jessica Talisman - librarian, semantic systems expert, and founder of Ontology Pipeline - about what it really takes to build knowledge systems that wor...
Dec. 4, 2025
Episode 6: MJ D'Elia - From Academic Libraries to Creative Facilitation
In this episode of the Shush-Free Zone, host Dawn Brushammar chats with MJ D'Elia, founder of Thirdway Think and Director of LLEAD, about his journey from academic libraries to teaching and creative facilitation. MJ shares in...