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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…