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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…