We Are Chaffee Podcast

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 growing up in a non-religious, non-traditional family in a heavily Mormon-influenced community in Utah. They talk about his move to New York to play soccer at Iona University, and the decade-long spiral of addiction and self-sabotage that unfolded after an injury sidelined him from playing. Among other things, like getting clean and finding his way back to soccer as a coach. __________  The We Are Chaffee Podcast is supported by Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health. Show notes, including the episode transcript, are at wearechaffeepod.com. Connect on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the We Are Chaffee Podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

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. They also talk about the ways communism affected Krista’s family. Her dad fled to freedom when Krista was very young and her mom was a political activist hiding her religious faith. They talk about how it still affects Krista today and how it influences her parenting of two American boys so far removed from the experiences of her youth. Among other things. __________  The We Are Chaffee Podcast is supported by Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health. Show notes, including the episode transcript, are at wearechaffeepod.com. Connect on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the We Are Chaffee Podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

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 gold medal-winning member of the 2012 Team USA World Long Distance trail-running team in Interlaken, Switzerland. Gina talks with Adam Williams about those experiences and shaping influences in her life, as well as her volunteer service and leadership for Chaffee County (Colo.) Search & Rescue North, her being featured in “The Candidate,” a documentary of her latest campaign for public office, and how she learned to harness the power in her experience of ADHD. __________  The We Are Chaffee Podcast is supported by Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health. Show notes, including the episode transcript, are at wearechaffeepod.com. Connect on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the We Are Chaffee Podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

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 of Pepperdine University only months later, to dive full time into his band in L.A. They talk about the relatively safe choice of becoming a dentist like his father, and then the risk of leaving it behind to start a tech company. They get into the wisdom of Father Richard Rohr and other philosophers, and talk about the “two halves of life," which leads them into talking about how they see their roles as dads. They also talk about how Matt views DifferentKind as a force for good in the community. And Matt tells about the one thing he misses now that he’s no longer actively practicing as a dentist. __________  The We Are Chaffee Podcast is supported by Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health. Show notes, including the episode transcript, are at wearechaffeepod.com. Connect on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the We Are Chaffee Podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

In this short episode, Adam Williams looks back at the year that was for the We Are Chaffee podcast, ICYMI (in case you missed it). He also looks ahead at 2025 and the upcoming episodes that will kick off the new year.  __________  The We Are Chaffee Podcast is supported by Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health. Show notes, including the episode transcript, are at wearechaffeepod.com. Connect on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the We Are Chaffee Podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

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 entertained audiences, well, probably everywhere he’s gone. He talks with Adam Williams about how the gift of telling tales came to him upon his father’s death and how cycling has changed his life, despite David’s initial pooh-poohing of being one of those men in spandex. They also talk about how David “accidentally” enlisted in the Army after the events of 9/11, about playing hide and seek with “the most vicious animal of all the North American wilderness,” and a key life lesson that he’s picked up over his many adventurous years. Among other things. __________  The We Are Chaffee Podcast is supported by Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health. You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the podcast at wearechaffeepod.com and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the We Are Chaffee Podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

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 to Paul’s roots in small-town England, where he says he grew up on the “wrong side of the tracks.” Through his father, Paul formed a lifelong connection with nature and an ambition to build a life that was beyond expectations. Paul also tells of his first big adventure to America, where things went very wrong on day one and by day two his life would be profoundly changed forever. Among other things. __________  We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream podcast is supported by Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health. You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the podcast at wearechaffeepod.com and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

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 a decade into the process to gain U.S. citizenship as an asylum seeker. He talks with Adam Williams about the how and why of that, what his fears are and how he feels about not being able to return home to see his village or family, who he’s not seen in many years. They talk about life in that village where Rama grew up. Rama and Adam talk about what it means to be Kurdish in Turkey, where the mere existence of Kurds is an inciting incident for many Turks, and certainly for the government. The Kurdish language and culture are effectively illegal and socially intolerable. __________  We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream podcast is supported by Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health. You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the podcast at wearechaffeepod.com and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

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 company and surf shop that he co-owns in Salida. Adam Williams talks with Mike about how he and Zack Hughes started Badfish in Zack’s garage and became huge influences in growing the adventure sport of river surfing into what it is today.  They also talk about Mike’s involvement in developing the whitewater park in Salida, including the Scout Wave, and about the opposition some feel toward those efforts. Among other things, like Mike’s recent trip to Northern Ireland and the Netflix series “Derry Girls.” __________  We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream podcast is a collaboration with Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health and the Chaffee Housing Authority, and is supported by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Office of Health Equity.  You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the Looking Upstream podcast at wearechaffeepod.com and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

PT Wood grew up in Boulder in the ’70s, skating and skitching around town. He came to the Arkansas Valley in the ’80s, like many drawn by the river and the skiing, and has been part of the scene in Salida, Colo., since. He and Adam talk about the resilience needed to thrive in mountain town life. For PT, that's included working as a river guide and a kayak sales rep, a housebuilder and pizza shop owner, as a whiskey distiller and entrepreneur (Wood's High Mountain Distillery). Not to mention his public service locally for many years, including as mayor of Salida and now as a Chaffee County commissioner. They talk about the rise of microdistilleries across the U.S. and how the events of 9/11 influenced that. And about why PT got involved in local politics and the most urgent issues facing Chaffee County today. __________  We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream podcast is a collaboration with Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health and the Chaffee Housing Authority, and is supported by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Office of Health Equity.  You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the Looking Upstream podcast at wearechaffeepod.com and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

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 talk about her 20+ years of solo international traveling, and how that traveling has influenced her spiritual growth, including a revelatory experience at a Buddhist monastery in Sri Lanka. Angie also talks about her years as a wildland firefighter, working on helitack and hotshot crews, including a season Down Under. And how she became a "tree activist" along the way. Among other things.  __________  We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream podcast is a collaboration with Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health and the Chaffee Housing Authority, and is supported by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Office of Health Equity.  You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the Looking Upstream podcast at wearechaffeepod.com and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

This crossover episode features Adam Williams, host of We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream, as a guest on Ryan Short's (co-founder of CivicBrand) Eyes on the Street podcast. (Ryan was a guest on Looking Upstream recently.) In this episode from Eyes on the Street, Ryan and Adam talk about community storytelling and how it can be a catalyst for change. Adam shares insights about Looking Upstream and the larger We Are Chaffee storytelling initiative that it’s part of. They also talk about some of Adam's creative interests, how he got into podcasting, what he loves about it, and the value of conversations like those that happen on Looking Upstream to community. __________  We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream podcast is a collaboration with Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health and the Chaffee Housing Authority, and is supported by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Office of Health Equity.  You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the Looking Upstream podcast at wearechaffeepod.com and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

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 together. They also talk about rewilding, the science behind meditation and Erica’s “pathological optimism.” Among other things. Like, Erica's six-month sabbatical years ago, in which she drove her 1982 Volkswagen Vanagon, named “Butter,” into the forests of the American West and sustained herself fully by foraging for food. It was a life-changing adventure that has permeated Erica's entire life since. __________  We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream podcast is a collaboration with Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health and the Chaffee Housing Authority, and is supported by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Office of Health Equity.  You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the Looking Upstream podcast at wearechaffeepod.com and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

Ryan Heckart talks with Adam Williams about barbering history, the fall of barber shops 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 the shop Green Street when it’s actually located on Main Street in Buena Vista, Colo. And why when he opened his new shop, he absolutely had to have an expensive pair of 101-year-old barber chairs.  Ryan and Adam talk about growing up in Flyover Land, the band Slipknot, the rise of Des Moines, and Ryan’s pride in craft and a career that has taken him to London and back. Among other things. Like, how they're both introverts who also are professional talkers. __________  We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream podcast is a collaboration with Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health and the Chaffee Housing Authority, and is supported by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Office of Health Equity.  You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the Looking Upstream podcast at wearechaffeepod.com and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

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 an earthship and a sustainable community. He talks about all that with Adam Williams in this conversation, as well as his becoming an EMT as a sophomore in high school. Chris has many years of experience on ambulances and as a firefighter, including wildland, and as a ski patroller. He and Adam also talk about time banking, a community-based economic concept that Chris uses at Yurts at Poncha Pass. __________  We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream podcast is a collaboration with Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health and the Chaffee Housing Authority, and is supported by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Office of Health Equity.  You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the Looking Upstream podcast at wearechaffeepod.com and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

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 and experience therapy, and why it goes against the grain of conventional perspectives. They talk about stigmas and “normalcy.” And touch on neurodivergence and on the warrior spirit of masculinity. Among other things. __________  We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream podcast is a collaboration with Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health and the Chaffee Housing Authority, and is supported by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Office of Health Equity.  You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the Looking Upstream podcast at wearechaffeepod.com and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

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 his way to a pro career. They also talk about Derek’s dad, Michael, who died last November and was a huge part of Derek’s life and skating career. In recent years, Derek was integral to the building of a new skatepark in Salida and bringing a World Cup event to town, with the Heart of the Rockies Rampage. __________  We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream podcast is a collaboration with Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health and the Chaffee Housing Authority, and is supported by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Office of Health Equity.  You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the Looking Upstream podcast at wearechaffeepod.com and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

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 to overcome those obstacles. It's a remarkable hero's journey. Adam talks with Debbie about having grace, resilience and empathy, despite the traumas and pitfalls. They also talk about the role of Deepak Chopra in Debbie’s life, first through one of his books and later with the man himself. Among other things. __________  We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream podcast is a collaboration with Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health and the Chaffee Housing Authority, and is supported by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Office of Health Equity.  You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the Looking Upstream podcast at wearechaffeepod.com and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

Read McCulloch is executive director of the Chaffee Housing Trust. He talks with Adam about housing affordability, how we got 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 in place what we need them to be? How do short-term rentals factor into the equation? What’s the impact of a moratorium on construction? Among other things. __________  We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream podcast is a collaboration with Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health and the Chaffee Housing Authority, and is supported by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Office of Health Equity.  You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the Looking Upstream podcast at wearechaffeepod.com and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.

Ryan Short co-founded CivicBrand with his wife Banner during shaky economic times and a pivotal family moment in 2008. He talks with Adam 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 is about helping communities to become the best version of themselves. Among other things, like the values of travel, parenting teenage sons, fishing and getting people to fall in love with the outdoors. __________  We Are Chaffee's Looking Upstream podcast is a collaboration with Chaffee County (Colo.) Public Health and the Chaffee Housing Authority, and is supported by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment's Office of Health Equity.  You can see show notes, read the show transcript, and learn more about the Looking Upstream podcast (and related storytelling initiatives) at wearechaffeepod.com, and on Instagram @wearechaffeepod. We Are Chaffee (wearechaffee.org) partners with KHEN radio (khen.org) in Salida, Colo., for local broadcasting of the Looking Upstream podcast. Credits Adam Williams, host, producer and photographer; Jon Pray, engineer and producer; Andrea Carlstrom, Director of Chaffee County Public Health and Environment; and Lisa Martin, We Are Chaffee Community Advocacy Coordinator.