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…

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…

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…

Silvana Montero, on traumatic brain injuries, her multicultural upbringing and getting your ‘ride smile on’ with Bicibits

Overview: In this episode of We Are Chaffee’s Looking Upstream podcast, Adam Williams talks with Silvana Montero.  Silvana, a road cyclist, recounts the harrowing experience of when she was hit from behind by a motorist driving more than 45 miles per hour – and the seemingly divine instruction she heard Read more…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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: Looking Upstream 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, Read more…