Practical DAM

About Practical DAM

A companion podcast to the book Practical Digital Asset Management: A Guide for Students and Practitioners, by Lisa Grimm (https://www.damtherapist.com/) and E. Keathley (https://www.linkedin.com/in/efkeathley). Come learn the ins and outs of DAM with global content experts who have seen some things...and lived to tell the tale. Here for good metadata. Find out more at PracticalDAM.net (https://www.practicaldam.net/).

Publisher

Lisa Grimm & E Keathley

Category

business · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 Aug 2026

Latest episode

18 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

12 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   18 Oct 2026

   Episode 12: Brand Portals with Ashantè Fray

   Brand portals, DAM and the vendor side This episode introduces Ashantè Fray, onboarding manager at Air, and explores how brand portals fit into digital asset management. Lisa Grimm and Elizabeth Keathley use the conversation to unpack when a brand portal is useful, how it differs from a traditional DAM, and why the human side of vendor relationships matters as much as the software. We discuss creative workflows, governance, raw files versus finals, and the career paths available on the vendor side. It is especially useful for DAM managers, marketers, and anyone trying to understand how brand assets should be shared, controlled, and maintained over time. Also, Canada! Resources & Links: Practical Digital Asset Management: A Guide for Students and Practitioners (https://www.bloomsbury.com/) Practical DAM (https://practicaldam.net) 2026 DAM Salary Survey (https://digitalassetmanagementnews.org/digital-asset-management/the-2026-dam-salary-survey-is-live-time-to-tell-us-what-youre-worth/) Elizabeth Keathley's LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/elizabethkeithley) Lisa Grimm's website (https://damtherapist.com) Ashantè Fray's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashant%C3%A8/) Original music for podcast by Steve Serra (mailto:stevenserra81@gmail.com?)

2. 

   12 Oct 2026

   Episode 11: DAM Migration with Jacq Yu

   Migration, metadata, and why DAM never ends Lisa Grimm and Elizabeth Keathley are joined by Jacqueline Yu for a practical conversation about DAM migration, metadata cleanup, governance, and the realities of integrating DAM with the rest of an enterprise stack. Jack brings firsthand experience from a major move off an old OpenText system into a new SaaS environment, plus a wider perspective shaped by library science, hospitality, and opera .In this episode, the group focuses on what migration really means once you move past the slogan of “lift and shift” and into content audits, rights management, security modeling, change management, and cleanup after launch. They also dig into how DAM sits inside a broader information architecture with CMS, PIM, MDM, CDNs, and other systems. Notable quotes “There is no done. There is only next.” “It’s people. It’s the people.” “If you want to save money start unpublishing things.” Resources & Links: Practical Digital Asset Management: A Guide for Students and Practitioners (https://www.bloomsbury.com/) Practical DAM (https://practicaldam.net) 2026 DAM Salary Survey (https://digitalassetmanagementnews.org/digital-asset-management/the-2026-dam-salary-survey-is-live-time-to-tell-us-what-youre-worth/) Elizabeth Keathley's LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/elizabethkeithley) Lisa Grimm's website (https://damtherapist.com) Jacq Yu's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-yu-9b893639/) Original music for podcast by Steve Serra (mailto:stevenserra81@gmail.com?)

3. 

   5 Oct 2026

   Episode 10: DAM Workflows with Celine Millinder

   Workflows, governance, and maturity in DAM Lisa Grimm and E Keathley are joined by Celine Millinder to unpack how workflows actually work in digital asset management, where they break down, and why governance matters as much as the technology. The conversation moves from Celine’s career path across photography, museums, charity, and commercial DAM work into a practical discussion of workflow maturity, interoperability, and documentation. If you are setting up DAM workflows, trying to improve messy approvals, or figuring out whether a process should even be automated, this episode is a useful reality check. Resources & Links: Practical Digital Asset Management: A Guide for Students and Practitioners (https://www.bloomsbury.com/) Practical DAM (https://practicaldam.net) 2026 DAM Salary Survey (https://digitalassetmanagementnews.org/digital-asset-management/the-2026-dam-salary-survey-is-live-time-to-tell-us-what-youre-worth/) Elizabeth Keathley's LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/elizabethkeithley) Lisa Grimm's website (https://damtherapist.com) Celine Millender's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/celinemillinder/) Original music for podcast by Steve Serra (mailto:stevenserra81@gmail.com?)

4. 

   28 Sept 2026

   Episode 9: DAM Metrics with Fred Rascoe

   DAM Metrics That Work Lisa Grimm and Elizabeth Keathley are joined by Fred Rascoe to rethink what metrics should do in digital asset management (DAM) and library systems. Rather than chasing vanity numbers or default vendor reports, they focus on how to measure real use, prove value, and connect reporting to the decisions an organization actually makes. They also dig into the overlap between library land and DAM: custodial versus post-custodial collections, licensing, discovery, preservation, and why the language you use can shape both the data you collect and how leadership interprets it. Resources & Links: Practical Digital Asset Management: A Guide for Students and Practitioners (https://www.bloomsbury.com/) Practical DAM (https://practicaldam.net) 2026 DAM Salary Survey (https://digitalassetmanagementnews.org/digital-asset-management/the-2026-dam-salary-survey-is-live-time-to-tell-us-what-youre-worth/) Elizabeth Keathley's LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/elizabethkeithley) Lisa Grimm's website (https://damtherapist.com) Fred Rascoe's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/fred-rascoe-07159614a/) Lost in the Stacks (https://library.gatech.edu/lostinthestacks) Original music for podcast by Steve Serra (mailto:stevenserra81@gmail.com?)

5. 

   21 Sept 2026

   Episode 8: Finding Assets with Clemency Wright

   Finding Assets with Clemency Wright In this episode, Clemency Wright, an expert in search and metadata, shares her extensive experience with keywording, metadata strategies, and how these elements are essential to effective digital asset management. Whether you’re managing a small library or a large digital archive, her insights help demystify the process and emphasize the strategic importance of metadata. Resources & Links: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI by Corey Dotrow (https://amzn.to/3Hq0EH8) Practical Digital Asset Management: A Guide for Students and Practitioners (https://www.bloomsbury.com/) Practical DAM (https://practicaldam.net) Elizabeth Keathley's LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/elizabethkeithley) Lisa Grimm's website (https://damtherapist.com) Clemency Wright's LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/clemencywright) Clemency Wright's website (https://www.clemency.co.uk/) Original music for podcast by Steve Serra (mailto:stevenserra81@gmail.com?)

6. 

   14 Sept 2026

   Episode 7: Making DAM Usable with Meg Morrissey

   Lisa Grimm and Elizabeth Keathley are joined by Meg Morrissey for a practical conversation about what makes a digital asset management system usable in the real world. They focus on the operational foundations behind successful DAM programs, from ownership and metadata modeling to governance, training, and change management. Meg brings a broad practitioner perspective as a librarian, taxonomist, archivist, consultant, vendor-side collaborator, and former DAM manager. The discussion stays grounded in what it takes to make a DAM work for users, leadership, and the people maintaining it. Resources & Links: Practical Digital Asset Management: A Guide for Students and Practitioners (https://www.bloomsbury.com/) Practical DAM (https://practicaldam.net) Elizabeth Keathley's LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/elizabethkeithley) Lisa Grimm's website (https://damtherapist.com) Meg Morrissey's website (https://megmorrissey.com/) DAM Salary Survey 2024 (https://digitalassetmanagementnews.org/digital-asset-management/the-2024-dam-salary-survey-results-are-now-available/) Original music for podcast by Steve Serra (mailto:stevenserra81@gmail.com?).

7. 

   7 Sept 2026

   Episode 6: Assets to Manage with Eric Reber

   Episode 6: Assets to Manage Lisa Grimm and E Keathley are joined by Eric Reber, whose background spans libraries, archives, media, and corporate DAM implementations. This episode breaks down what “assets to manage” really means when your content includes physical objects, layered design files, decades of legacy media, and systems that were never built to talk to each other. In this episode, the conversation gets practical fast: what makes an asset “complex,” why metadata choices matter, and why timelines for DAM implementations are usually fantasy. Eric shares hard-earned lessons from CNN, Carter’s, and his current work helping a company stand up Adobe Experience Manager while sorting through massive content sprawl. Resources & Links: Practical Digital Asset Management: A Guide for Students and Practitioners (https://www.bloomsbury.com/) Practical DAM (https://practicaldam.net) Elizabeth Keathley's LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/elizabethkeithley) Lisa Grimm's website (https://damtherapist.com) Eric Reber's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericreber/) DAM Salary Survey 2024 (https://digitalassetmanagementnews.org/digital-asset-management/the-2024-dam-salary-survey-results-are-now-available/) Original music for podcast by Steve Serra (mailto:stevenserra81@gmail.com?).

8. 

   31 Aug 2026

   Episode 5: DAM Jobs with Alison King

   Lisa Grimm and Elizabeth Keathley are joined by Alison King for a practical conversation about career pivots, transferable skills, and how librarians and other information professionals can move into digital asset management and related fields. They break down what counts as relevant experience, why so many people underestimate their own value, and how to spot job postings that are badly written, underpaid, or just plain unrealistic. In this episode, they explore the real language of DAM hiring, the impact of vocational awe on career decisions, and the keywords that can help candidates find roles that fit their experience. Resources & Links: Practical Digital Asset Management: A Guide for Students and Practitioners (https://www.bloomsbury.com/) Practical DAM (https://practicaldam.net) Elizabeth Keathley's LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/elizabethkeithley) Lisa Grimm's website (https://damtherapist.com) Alison King's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonking100/) Original music for podcast by Steve Serra (mailto:stevenserra81@gmail.com?).

9. 

   24 Aug 2026

   Episode 4: DAM Hosting with Mary Katherine Barnes

   DAM Storage, Hosting, and What Really Shapes DAM Decisions Lisa Grimm and Elizabeth Keathley are joined by Mary Katherine Barnes for a conversation that starts with career paths into digital asset management and moves into the practical realities of hosting, storage, security, and governance. Also, some DAM gossip. Resources & Links Practical Digital Asset Management: A Guide for Students and Practitioners (https://www.bloomsbury.com/) Practical DAM website (https://practicaldam.net) Elizabeth Keathley's LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/elizabethkeithley) Lisa Grimm's website (https://damtherapist.com) Mary Katherine's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkbarnes/) Original music for podcast by Steve Serra

10. 

    17 Aug 2026

    Episode 3: Choosing a DAM with Ralph Windsor

    Choosing a DAM with Ralph Windsor In this episode of Practical DAM, Lisa and Elizabeth are joined by DAM veteran Ralph Windsor to explore how organizations can select the right DAM system, avoid common pitfalls, and build lasting vendor relationships. Whether you're implementing your first DAM or upgrading, Ralph’s expertise sheds light on strategic decision-making and vendor management. Key Topics: Ralph Windsor’s journey in digital asset management since 1995, from coding to consulting The importance of auditing existing systems before choosing a new DAM Common mistakes in DAM selection and how to avoid them The role of demos versus RFPs in vendor evaluation Managing vendor relationships and sales culture How to transition smoothly after DAM procurement The myth of "enterprise" vs "small vendor" and the value of smaller, honest firms Long-term contract considerations and avoiding lock-ins The impact of industry maturity and AI advancements on DAM systems Tips for handling vendor negotiations and setting realistic expectations Resources & Links: Practical Digital Asset Management: A Guide for Students and Practitioners (https://www.bloomsbury.com/) Practical DAM (https://practicaldam.net) Elizabeth Keithley's LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/elizabethkeithley) Lisa Grimm's website (https://damtherapist.com) Activo (https://activo.com/) - Ralph's employer Open Specification for DAM (https://dam.org/specs) - Ralph Windsor's resource for DAM questions Connect with Ralph Windsor: LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/ralph-windsor) Additional notes: Be wary of long-term contracts; Ralph advises sticking to a maximum of three years initially. Smaller vendors often provide more personalized service and greater honesty about their capabilities. Always align vendor expectations with contractual commitments and know who your vendor team will be post-deployment. Original music for podcast by Steve Serra (mailto:stevenserra81@gmail.com?).

11. 

    10 Aug 2026

    Episode 2: Time for DAM with Seema Caron

    Episode 2: Time for DAM with Seema Caron Main Topics: The role of DAM consultants in system launch, migration, and optimization Identifying key inflection points for bringing in DAM expertise Strategies for building a successful DAM consulting practice The importance of education, advocacy, and community support in DAM Challenges and rewards of working independently versus in-house DAM roles Leveraging AI and LLMs within DAM platforms Building trust and effective communication with clients and vendors Business development, pipeline management, and realistic expectations in consulting Lisa Grimm's website (https://www.damtherapist.com/) Elizabeth Keathley's LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/elizabethkeithley) Seema Caron's Website (https://seemacaron.com/) DAM Discord (https://discord.gg/A9gBrU8ep7) Practical DAM book (https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/practical-digital-asset-management-9798216196280/) Practical DAM website (https://www.practicaldam.net/) Original music for podcast by Steve Serra (mailto:stevenserra81@gmail.com?).

12. 

    3 Aug 2026

    Episode 1: Intro to DAM with Henrik de Gyor

    Episode 1: Introduction to DAM, with Henrik De Gyor In this episode of Practical DAM, Lisa Grimm and co-host Elizabeth Keathley welcome Henrik De Gyor to explore the fundamentals of digital asset management (DAM). Whether you're new to DAM or looking to deepen your understanding, this discussion covers the evolution, core characteristics, and practical insights essential for effective DAM implementation. Lisa Grimm's website (https://www.damtherapist.com/) Elizabeth Keathley's LinkedIn (https://linkedin.com/in/elizabethkeithley) Henrik de Gyor's LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/henrikdegyor/) Practical DAM book (https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/practical-digital-asset-management-9798216196280/) Practical DAM website (https://www.practicaldam.net/) Original music for podcast by Steve Serra (mailto:stevenserra81@gmail.com?).

Contact Practical DAM

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.