Episodes

Becca Williams, founder of Menopausey, on insatiable curiosity & ‘saving the world,’ entrepreneurship & creative problem-solving, practicing gratitude, the seasons of life & perimenopause

Overview: Becca Williams wears many hats in the tech world these days, including being the founder of the startup Menopausey, which, as the name suggests, is related to perimenopause and menopause. But she’s also been a newspaper and magazine photojournalist and owned a wedding photography business. She’s been a high Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Dr. Erika Altneu, geriatrician, on the art & science of geriatric medicine, good life & good death, and medical aid in dying

Overview: Dr. Erika Altneu, geriatrician, talks with Adam Williams about the art and science of geriatric medicine. They talk about how she helps her patients pursue a good life and, when it’s time, a good death. They talk about the community connection and creative problem-solving that accompanies being a physician Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Tommy Gram-Ahlene, on avalanche safety & ‘unconscious incompetence,’ climate change & the outdoor industry, the extraordinary nature of the Arkansas Valley & bootstrapping a dream

Overview: Tommy Gram-Ahlene owns and operates two outdoor adventure businesses in the Arkansas Valley (Colo.): Whitewater Attainment and BV Mountain Adventures. He has built an extraordinary outdoor life and career resume during the past 20 years. He has become a go-to resource and instructor far beyond the valley, too, including Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Nathan Ward, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker, on ‘The Rider & The Wolf,’ a creative life of adventure, living in Kathmandu & bikepacking in Mongolia

Overview: Nathan Ward is the Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker behind “The Rider & The Wolf,” which dug into the legend of mountain biking innovator Mike Rust — and his mysterious disappearance and death. Nathan also is a writer and photographer who has spent many years roving the farflung corners of Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

John & Coleen Graybill (Curtis Legacy Foundation), on great-grandfather Edward Curtis’ iconic work, shining light on Native voices and stories, and their Descendants Project 

Overview: John and Coleen Graybill, of the Curtis Legacy Foundation, are doing their “life’s best work” in retirement. Through the Foundation, they are focused on raising awareness of indigenous peoples and their cultures. They use the iconic work of Edward Curtis, John’s great-grandfather, to do that. They talk with host Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Reed Dils, pioneer river outfitter in the Arkansas Valley, on the industry’s Wild West early days, negotiating water flows, legacy & today’s challenges 

Overview: Reed Dils and his wife, Karen, were river outfitting pioneers in the Arkansas Valley (Colo.), in the mid-70s. They owned 4-Corners Rafting, the second outfit to establish itself in the area. Within a handful of years, there would be several dozen rafting companies.  It was a Wild West industry Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Johnny Buschmann, on Columbine, survivor’s guilt & ‘trauma camp,’ forgiveness & showing love, & living a joyful life with Chicki Minaj & Cardi Bird 

Overview: Johnny Buschmann was a 4’11”, 80-pound freshman at Columbine High School in 1999 when a mass shooting changed his life, and the lives of so many others. He talks with Adam Williams about that day, the aftermath and his healing – from the shooting, from unrelated family traumas and Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Betsy Dittenber, of the Community Foundation, on roller derby & personal transformation, social justice & nonprofit entrepreneurship, & the ‘Tinder for volunteering’

Overview: Betsy Dittenber, executive director of the Chaffee County (Colo.) Community Foundation, talks with Adam Williams about her early experiences in nonprofit work and volunteerism in Boston and Guadalajara. They talk about what a community foundation is and how it fosters resilience, and how the CCCF has created a website Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago
Josh and Maddy Chance, Headwater Farms

Josh & Maddy Chance, of Headwater Farms, on their love story & traveling adventures in farming, ‘The Farming Chefs’ & ‘The Good Life’

Overview: Josh and Maddy Chance were high school sweethearts. The persistent football star and the resistant cheerleader. Over time, they’ve traveled near and far with their shared interests in farming, until deciding to put down roots, start a family and begin building Headwater Farms in the Arkansas Valley (Colo.), in Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Tracy Arthur Kachadourian, on conflict resolution, self-accountability, her emancipation as a teen & the benefits of investing in youth

Overview: Tracy Arthur Kachadourian is a professional mediator and an expert in facilitating conflict resolution. She and Adam talk about how to build more empathetic, accountable and resilient relationships, personal and professional. Among other things. Tracy grew up in a home where conflict and her mother’s mental health challenges led Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Jordan Cunliffe, on his love of soccer & coaching, self-sabotage & a decade of addiction, Carl Jung & doing hard things, and ‘an insane Google search’

Overview: Jordan Cunliffe is a soccer coach and mentor to students at an alternative high school in Chaffee County, Colorado. He also is a former Division I university athlete whose drug addiction cut short his career playing the sport he loved more than anything. Jordan talks with Adam Williams about Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Krista Jarvis, on creativity under communist constraints, the ‘Velvet Revolution’, upcycled fashion & a circus village to raise children

Overview: Krista Jarvis grew up in communist Czechoslovakia and witnessed the Velvet Revolution. By the time she was a teenager, the country split into two nations: Slovakia and the Czech Republic. She talks with Adam Williams about creativity under communist constraints and the pivotal experience when she became an artist. Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Gina Lucrezi, on creating Trail Sisters, ‘The Candidate’, community & public service, gold for Team USA & harnessing her superpower

Overview: Gina Lucrezi founded Trail Sisters, the leading women’s trail running organization in the U.S., if not world. This passion extends from her standout running career – track and trail – as a National Champion and 10-time All-American at DeSales University, then as a professional trail runner and as a Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Matt Allen, D.D.S., on dentistry as public service & his tech venture DifferentKind, the two halves of life & our roles as parents, Liverpool fandom & communal singing

Overview: Matt Allen, D.D.S., is a formerly practicing dentist who now is the CEO and co-founder of DifferentKind, a tech venture focused on making healthcare more human.  He talks with Adam Williams about how, having been the valedictorian of his high school class in Prescott, Ariz., he almost dropped out Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

David Sorrentino, raconteur, on a ‘Bigfoot’ experience, accidentally enlisting in the Army, cycling the Great Divide, and 50 years of fly fishing

Overview: David Sorrentino is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and of the U.S. Army. He’s a cyclist who has completed the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route three times, connecting America’s northern and southern borders. He’s an obsessive fly fisherman of more than 50 years. He’s a raconteur who has Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Paul Andrews, on growing up in small-town England, father wounds & positive masculinity, faith in the Universe & the Zen of affordable housing development

Overview: Paul Andrews is the man with the vision behind The Crossing neighborhood development in Buena Vista, Colo. He talks with Adam Williams about that project, which is committed to 50 percent affordable housing through partnerships with the Chaffee Housing Trust and Chaffee Housing Authority. Paul and Adam also go back Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Rama Yigit, of Rama’s Bread, on baking, village life & shepherding in Kurdistan, seeking asylum & the bittersweet freedom of not being able to go home again 

Overview: Rama Yigit is a baker of Kurdish bread and baklava. He’s a circus performer and a paralegal who helps fellow asylum seekers document their stories. He also is a shepherd and farmer from Kurdistan, a region in eastern Turkey that is not recognized by Turkey. Rama is most of Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Mike Harvey, on Badfish & his life’s work, river surfing & a profound shift in perspective, whitewater park design & the Scout Wave … & ‘Derry Girls’

Overview: Mike Harvey has been at the heart of the river scene in Salida, Colo., for more than 25 years. As a river guide and a competitive freestyle kayaker, a whitewater park designer and an entrepreneur carving out a market for river surfing and paddle boarding through Badfish, the manufacturing Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Angie Jenson, on Mormon excommunication & challenging rules, wildland firefighting & tree activism, solo world travel & a revelatory experience in a Buddhist monastery

Overview: Angie Jenson was brought up in the Mormon church and, when she was a young woman, she sought excommunication from The Church. She talks with Adam Williams about why she felt that was necessary and about the formal exit interview that she went through to make it happen. They Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Dr. Erica Gift, on rewilding & foraging, psychology & food choices, the science of meditation, pathological optimism, magic mushrooms & a Vanagon named ‘Butter’

Overview: Dr. Erica Gift is a professor of psychology at California State University in Northridge. She also informally is a botanist, and is a community educator on wild foods and bioregional herbalism. She talks with Adam Williams about how she weaves her knowledge and passions for nature, food and psychology Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Ryan Heckart, on his Green Street Barbershop & the resurgence of barbering, Slipknot & Des Moines, growing up in Flyover Land & the power of silence

Overview: Ryan Heckart talks with Adam Williams about barbering history, the fall of barbershops through the late 20th century (thanks Beatles!) and the rise again in more recent years.  He tells the story of his barber shop, which he recently opened in Cockeyed Liz’s old brothel, and why he named Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Chris White, founder and builder of Yurts at Poncha Pass, on leaving a career in marine biology to build sustainable community in the mountains

Overview: Chris White, founder and builder of Yurts at Poncha Pass, grew up in Santa Fe, left to become a marine biologist and oceanographer who studied gray whales in British Columbia and bottlenose dolphins and wave energy in Peru, and has since moved to the mountains of Colorado to build Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Stacey Joslin & Elizabeth Ruggiero, on mental illness & health, what’s missing in therapy, ‘normal,’ neurodiversity, masculinity & the warrior spirit

Overview: Stacey Joslin is executive director of the Chaffee County affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Dr. Elizabeth Ruggiero is a systemic therapist. Both have extraordinary personal experiences that influence their insights on mental wellbeing. They talk with Adam Williams about what’s missing in how we think about Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Derek Scott, pro skateboarder, on skating culture, history & the best rock band ever, the loss of his dad & the Heart of the Rockies Rampage

Overview: Derek Scott talks with Adam Williams about skateboarding culture, history and music. They talk about the failure and perseverance that’s a necessary part of skating. And about how a kid growing up in Salida, Colo., with not a lot of skating terrain became a competition skater traveling and winning Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Debbie Cassidy, on a hero’s journey from intense generational trauma and ‘bad decisions’ to being a healer and spiritual teacher

Overview: Debbie Cassidy talks with Adam Williams about generational family trauma that includes violence, tragedy and mental illness. There is great loss, grief and, in Debbie’s words, “a lot of bad decisions,” including drug addiction.  But there also is a story of divine epiphany and a triumph of the spirit Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Read McCulloch, of Chaffee Housing Trust, on housing affordability problems & solutions, short-term rentals, and the community land trust model vs. deed-restricted housing

Overview: Read McCulloch is executive director of the Chaffee Housing Trust. He talks with Adam Williams about housing affordability, how we got to this state of housing affordability crisis and deed-restricted housing vs. the community land trust model. Read also addresses: Are the local building processes and policies we have Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Ryan Short, co-founder of CivicBrand, on ‘locals first’ placemaking & civic pride, values of travel, teaching sons & being bold in decisive moments

Overview: Ryan Short co-founded CivicBrand with his wife Banner during shaky economic times and a pivotal family moment in 2008. He talks with Adam Williams about making such bold and unconventional decisions. They also talk about CivicBrand’s pioneering work in city branding and placemaking, and the “locals first” approach that Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Tim Brown, on adventure & tintype photography, impacts of photography’s tech evolution, 1980s housing affordability, and heartbreak & healing

Overview: Tim Brown probably is most known for his tintype photography these days. But he also had many exciting years of globe-traveling as a rarely skilled kayaker-slash-adventure photographer. He talks about both with Adam.  As well as his dive into the mid-19th century techniques of tintype photography after opportunities for Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Ken Brandon, of Box of Bubbles, on Dalí & da Vinci, Absurdism & Stoicism, & channeling a character of love, joy & weirdness on a bicycle

Overview: Ken Brandon seems to be a kind of philosophical Stoic, Buddhist, absurdist Spartan, who is known for riding a bicycle around Salida, Colo., while wearing a giraffe head and a three-piece suit. And yet he describes himself as “boring.” Ken also is a designer, a painter and a screenwriter, Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Anna Heinauer, on nutrition & MyPlate, diet culture & ‘tricky foods,’ being a positive force in the food system & her children’s book, ‘Alice and the Garden’

Overview: Anna Heinauer is an integrative nutrition health coach and she’s co-owner of The Lettucehead Food Company. Host Adam Williams talks with Anna about many things nutrition. Like, what is it, really? And why should we care about it? They talk about the value of local food sources and the Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Thuy Nguyen, on self-empowerment & breaking free from a cult-like religion, overcoming postpartum depression, choosing gratitude & the pursuit of joy

Overview: In this episode of We Are Chaffee’s Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Thuy Nguyen, a poet, writer and speaker on self-empowerment. Thuy came up in a cult-like religious environment. When she was a teen, she was preyed upon by a church leader and, ultimately, shunned by that Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Mahting Putelis, on his Latvian roots in Michigan, his ‘dirtbag’ 20s, realities of adventure photography, emergence of AI & the three things people want

Overview: In this episode of We Are Chaffee’s Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Mahting Putelis. Mahting grew up in a Latvian community in Kalamazoo, MI. It was extraordinarily formative, and is a source of great pride for Mahting. Adam talks with him about that upbringing and community, and Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Jason Marsden, on GARNA, the state of journalism today, being a cocktail party diversion at Harvard, and his friend Matthew Shepard

Overview: In this episode of We Are Chaffee’s Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Jason Marsden, executive director of the Greater Arkansas River Nature Association (GARNA). Adam talks with Jason about his early years growing up on a farm, his studying post-WWII poetry at Harvard, and his time as Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Jennifer Dempsey, on the value of social circus, Belfast during ‘The Troubles,’ creating resilience through humor and being the world’s worst waitress

Overview: In this episode of We Are Chaffee’s Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Jennifer Dempsey, founder of the Salida (Colo.) Circus and former director of the Belfast Community Circus in Northern Ireland. They talk about what a social circus is and the good it serves in a community. Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Shane McNeil, on ‘Guy with the Chevy Tattoo,’ straight-edge punk, three chords and the truth, psilocybin, PMA & living in the gray

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Shane McNeil, singer-songwriter-guitarist, auto mechanic and jack-of-all-trades.  In this conversation, Adam talks with Shane about tattoos and Shane’s autobiographical song, “Guy with the Chevy Tattoo.” They talk about the early influences in Shane’s life, Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Gloria Esparza, on Gen Z, mental health among teens, generational disconnects, optimism for the future, and the best games of ‘cops & robbers’ ever

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Gloria Esparza, an 18-year-old high school senior and a youth advisor through Chaffee County (Colo.) Family & Youth Initiatives. Adam talks with Gloria about her upbringing in a home with three generations and two Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Ray Nypaver, nature-based psychotherapist, on ego & identity, fear & love, death & connecting with our true selves

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Ray Nypaver. Ray is a nature-based psychotherapist and running coach, essayist and poet whose newest book is “Light & Dark: Reflections on the Human Experience.” Ray studied at Naropa, a Buddhist-inspired university in Boulder, Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Zac Baird, keyboardist, on hanging out with rock stars, balancing life as a touring musician and dad, the hardest job he ever had & how he hooked up with Korn

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Zac Baird. Zac is a keyboardist and composer. He’s known across musical genres for his electronic talents, including his use of synthesizers and computers. He has toured the world far and wide, playing with Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Jed Selby, South Main developer & former pro kayaker, on affordable housing, building the future, his love of live music & what motivates him

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Jed Selby, co-developer of South Main in Buena Vista, Colorado. That includes the Surf Hotel, the bar and restaurant Wesley & Rose, and the concert venues of the Ivy Ballroom and the Lawn, among Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago
Rob Dubin | We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream Podcast

Rob Dubin, happiness expert, on gratitude & resilience, employee happiness & ‘quiet quitting’, a story of surviving against all odds & learnings from 17 years at sea

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Rob Dubin, an international keynote speaker and former filmmaker who has become an expert on happiness and resilience. Rob and his wife, Dee, made national news 30 years ago when they survived several days Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago
Alf Rudd | We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream Podcast

Alpheus “Alf” Rudd, 10th-generation master blacksmith, on times gone by, the value of old-world skills and self-sufficiency, and ‘Forged in Fire’

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Alpheus “Alf” Rudd, a master blacksmith with a family lineage in the trade, dating back to at least the 1600s. Adam and Alf take a ride through history and stories of a time gone Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Katie Brown, rock climber and memoirist (‘Unraveled’), on navigating hidden trauma and anorexia while publicly being celebrated as the ‘best female climber of the millennium’ 

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Katie Brown, former world champion rock climber named “best female climber of the millennium” by Climbing magazine. Adam talks with Katie about her memoir, “Unraveled.” They talk about her growing up in isolation that Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Keith Baker, County Commissioner and retired U.S. Navy Commander, on growing up in a ‘golden era,’ working with Gen. Colin Powell and servant leadership

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Keith Baker, Chaffee County (Colo.) Commissioner, retired U.S. Naval Commander, and former owner of The Trailhead (Buena Vista, Colo.), to name just a few chapters in Keith’s story. Keith talks about his country roots Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Eddie Sandoval, chef, restaurateur and concert manager, on the visceral nature of music, sharing food as community, and travels in Southeast Asia 

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Eddie Sandoval.  Eddie might be most known as chef and owner of the Asian Palate (Buena Vista, Colo.), along with his wife, Brynn. In recent months, he also became concert manager for the Surf Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

The Fites (Mars & Ashley), on family #vanlife, living dreams now, finding commonality with strangers of all stripes, and authenticity as digital creators

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Mars and Ashley Fite.  The Fites are married digital creators who were early to living adventures on the road before #vanlife became a thing on social media. Ashley and Mars share fantastic insights and Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago
Laurie Benson | We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream Podcast

Laurie Benson, on ‘Leading from the Feminine,’ community, the power of perception, and accepting life with a neutral spirit

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with entrepreneur, author, speaker and coach Laurie Benson. Laurie talks with Adam about her experiences working on climate issues around the world. They talk about her connection with indigenous women, and her work with mothers Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Kimi Uno, on Riot Grrrl, ‘Howl’, her family’s experience of internment camp during World War II, and the importance of fighting for what’s right

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with entrepreneur and activist Kimi Uno. Kimi shares about the influence of the  movement on her life when she was coming up in the Pacific Northwest. She and Adam talk about female empowerment and feminism, Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Joe Parkin, on cycling, doping and race fixing, and his many adventures in ‘search of that thing that so completely enthralls’ the mind and body

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Joe Parkin. Joe was a pioneering American professional cyclist in Europe in the 80s and 90s. He also has been a professional and/or highly competitive BMX, mountain bike and motorcycle racer. He’s been an Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Rick Bieterman & Katy Welter, of Watershed Ranch, on adventure & leaps of faith, leadership & community, land conservation & historic preservation

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Rick Bieterman and Katy Welter. Rick Bieterman and Katy Welter. Katy and Rick are married partners in a life of ranching and historic renovation, and other adventures. They met on a 75-day outdoor leadership Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Travis Macy, pro endurance athlete and author, on his new book, his father Mark Macy’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, love and grief, optimism and resilience

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with professional endurance athlete and author Travis Macy. Travis has a new book out, “A Mile at a Time.” It’s a collaboration with his father, the legendary endurance athlete, Mark “Mace” Macy, and Patrick Regan. Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Elisia Parham, on slam poetry, Black Lives Matter, allyship, confronting her own biases, activism out of love, and having difficult conversations

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Elisia Parham, poet, activist and social worker. Elisia is a poet who grew up in unconventional circumstances. She and Adam talk about how those circumstances helped her to develop resilience and her voice, Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Sophia Herzog Gibb, two-time Paralympic medalist, on her swimming career, cultivating resilience and confidence, her dwarfism and a love story

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Sophia Herzog Gibb, a two-time Paralympic medalist swimmer. Sophie retired from world competition after the Tokyo games were held in 2021. She grew up in Fairplay, Colo., at first with dreams of being Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Wendell Pryor, on civil rights and public service, family values, the importance of Internet for rural connectivity, and only semi-retiring in his 70s

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Wendell Pryor, the retired former executive director of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) in Chaffee County, Colo. Wendell tells about growing up in what was then a rural area outside Denver, coming up Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Monica White, on her yearslong struggle with Lyme disease and her advocacy as founder of the Colorado Tick-Borne Disease Awareness Association 

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Monica White, founder of the Colorado Tick-Borne Disease Awareness Association. Monica enjoyed a career as a wildlife biologist for the U.S. Forest Service for a number of years, and then experienced a life-changing Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Public Health, on a ‘wild, surreal’ pandemic ride, optimism & gratitude, and finding love on a Phish tour 

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Andrea Carlstrom, director of Chaffee County (Colorado) Public Health. Andrea and Adam reflect on the recent past, with the three-year mark of the first COVID case noted in Chaffee County in mind. During Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Lenny & Amy Eckstein, of the craft distillery Deerhammer, on big career changes and taking risks, leadership and crafting company culture, and squirt boating

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Amy and Lenny Eckstein, the married couple and entrepreneurial energy behind the craft distillery Deerhammer. Lenny and Amy tell about their East Coast origin story, how they met and made their way west, Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Jonathon Stalls, author, artist and advocate, on shedding painful life stories, learning to love himself, and advocating for connection through unhurried movement

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Jonathon Stalls, author of the book, “Walk: Slow Down, Wake Up and Connect at 1-3 Miles Per Hour.”  They talk about Jonathon’s 242-day walk across the United States as a pivotal experience for Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Les Messamer, on growing up fundamentalist, being shunned for enlisting during WWII, being a seagoing cowboy on the Pacific, and more 

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Les Messamer, a 96-year-old World War II veteran who one might swear has lived multiple lives simultaneously. Adventurous ones and otherwise. Les tells about his upbringing in a fundamentalist religious farm community in Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Tayte Pollmann, on earthship architecture and sustainability, trail running and writing in Nepal, living with five housemates and the importance of Liège waffles

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Tayte Pollmann. Tayte is a writer, trail runner, Nordic skier, traveler and, it turns out, a lover of Liège waffles, artisan cheese and many other things.  Adam and Tayte talk about a roving Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Dominique Naccarato, dir. of GARNA, on growing up in Salida in the pre-Internet era, waves of change and a look into the 22nd century

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Dominique Naccarato, executive director of the Greater Arkansas River Nature Association (GARNA) and city council member in Salida, Colo. Dominique’s story is Salida’s story, at least in part. She talks with Adam about Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Jenny Davis, founder of Achieve, on neurodiversity, why you’re better at meditation than you think, and searching for the Dalai Lama’s tea pot

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Jenny Davis, founder of Achieve, Inc., and Little Engine Eatery. Jenny’s story of a Midwest upbringing and parents who divorced when she was a teen highlights her entrepreneurial spirit. Jenny and Adam talk Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Mike Orrill, retired pastor, on the difficulties of faith, freedom in doubts, the evolution of his beliefs, and the power of sharing stories

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Mike Orrill, a retired Presbyterian pastor of 35 years. Mike describes himself as a “poster child for doubt,” as he and Adam discuss faith and the dangers of certainty. They talk about Mike’s Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Rob & Sarah Gartzman (‘The Biker & The Baker’), on balancing fear and love in business and marriage, and building a future that works

Overview: In this episode of the We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast, host Adam Williams talks with Rob and Sarah Gartzman, a married couple who also are entrepreneurial partners who own multiple restaurants in the town of Salida, Colorado. Sarah and Rob met as high school seniors in Evanston, Illinois, Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Alexandra Restrepo, on childhood with a drug-addicted mother, the enduring love of her father, and fighting for her biggest dream

Overview: Alexandra Restrepo and We Are Chaffee host Adam Williams talk about Alex’s early childhood with an abusive, drug-addicted mother, and the love and sacrifices of her father.  We talk about her leaving the United States and growing up with her father’s family on a farm in Colombia, South America. Alex Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Adam Williams, Host of Looking Upstream, & Lisa Martin, Producer & Community Advocacy Coordinator, talk about We Are Chaffee and the new Looking Upstream podcast with Ken Matthews on KHEN Radio

Overview: Lisa Martin, producer for the new We Are Chaffee: Looking Upstream podcast and Community Advocacy Coordinator for the We Are Chaffee initiative, and Adam Williams, host of the new podcast, talk with Ken Matthews on the Chaffee Housing Report radio show on KHEN 106.9 in Salida, Colo. The conversation Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago

Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Public Health & Environment & Becky Gray, Director of Chaffee Housing Authority talk about Public Health & Housing with Ken Matthews on KHEN Radio

Overview: Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment, and Becky Gray, Director of the Chaffee Housing Authority, talk with Ken Matthews on the Chaffee Housing Report radio show on KHEN 106.9 in Salida, Colo. The conversation is the first of a two-part transition from the Chaffee Housing Read more…

By Adam Williams, ago