Two iSchool alumni are included in Library Journal's 2026 class of Movers & Shakers, an annual list that recognizes 50 professionals who are moving the library field as a profession. Leah T. Dudak (MSLIS '17) was honored in the Advocates category and Mariella Colon (MSLIS '07) was honored in the Community Builders category.
Leah T. Dudak planned on being an academic music librarian until she found her purpose as the community care and support coordinator at Urban Librarians Unite (ULU) in Brooklyn, New York. Dudak was already focused on trauma and burnout in libraries but saw a greater need during the pandemic, leading to her involvement with ULU's Urban Library Trauma Study. This turned into the 2022 launch of the Library Worker Support Network, where library peers help find solutions to trauma in the workplace, which Dudak helps to ensure runs smoothly, creating spaces "where people can explore these ideas and explore ways to care for each other in the community."
Mariella Colon, a librarian and manager of the Civic, Cultural and Literary Engagement Unit at the Chicago Public Library (CPL), grew up going to Chicago public libraries and describes herself as "a library kid embodied." Leading initiatives across CPL's 81 locations, Colon is passionate about designing programs that elevate the city's history as well as community voices. A couple of her projects include her groundbreaking collaboration with CPL's Archives and Special Collections on the Mellon Foundation-funded Renaissance Project that showcases the library’s unique archival resources, and programs that are designed to translate untold stories and connect participants with Chicago's Black history through hands-on activities that range from LEGO building to illustration workshops.