Deep Dive with Dr D

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A lot of life advice sounds good until you hear it from someone who actually lived it. On this Veterans Day, we sit down with my father-in-law, Dudley Kell, and let his story do the teaching: a 1950s small-town childhood where you finish the chore list before you earn the fun, a decision to volunteer for the US Army in 1962, and the kind of discipline that sticks with you long after the uniform is gone. We talk about how service forces you to grow up fast: making your bed, following orders, working as a team, and learning that your choices don’t just affect you. 

From there, Dudley walks us through a four-decade career at Weyerhaeuser, starting as an hourly worker and eventually spending decades in leadership. He shares what the sawmill used to be like, the injuries and close calls that made safety rules non-negotiable, and his straight-shooting approach to management: treat people with dignity and respect, set clear expectations, and don’t confuse kindness with being a pushover. If you care about blue-collar leadership, workplace culture, and real-world communication, this part hits hard. 

We also get personal about family, loss, and the turning points that can change everything. Dudley talks about meeting Sharon, learning structure, and what “success” means when you measure it by the life you build at home. Then we get practical with financial planning and retirement advice: save early, don’t count on Social Security alone, pay down debt, and prepare for the emotional shift when work friends aren’t part of your daily routine anymore. We close with a simple message of hope: never give up on your dreams, plus one last important debate about why anyone would buy a Ford. 

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One day. That’s the gap between two college acceptance emails, and it’s also the kind of gap that can quietly change an entire life. Lauren Pratt joins us to talk about how she landed at Central Washington University, why Ellensburg became home, and what happened after she took a chance on an internship that started with a single, seriously professional email.

We get into the real mechanics of a career pivot: starting as an art major, getting hit with feedback that was more hurtful than helpful, and choosing a new direction in hospitality and event planning instead of letting one bad experience define her. From there, Lauren shares how saying yes to opportunities stacked into skills, confidence, and eventually an unexpected calling working with kids, from preschool to infants and campus life.

The heart of the conversation is community and mentorship. We talk about found family, why relationships matter when you are far from home, and how small acts like showing up, offering help, or giving someone a ride in the rain can change what a place feels like. Lauren also opens up about routines, ADHD, and learning to stand up for herself while staying grounded.

If you care about career development, internships and practicums, childcare and education work, or building community in Ellensburg and at CWU, this one is for you. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a friend who needs a little hope, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

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A college town can look small from the outside, then quietly become the place that saves you. We sit down with Ash Perron, an “honorary local” Ellensburgian, campus leader, and musician in Tin Fish, to talk about the non-linear road that brought her from a chaotic childhood to meaningful work at Central Washington University, and back to performing the kind of music that feels like home. 

We get real about the parts of higher education nobody explains out loud: being a first-generation student, clicking through FAFSA without context, Pell Grant pressure, student loan debt that adds up fast, and the slow grind of transcript holds and bureaucratic runaround. Ash shares what it’s like to carry shame while still trying to finish, and what finally changed when the right people helped connect the dots. If you’ve ever felt “bounced around” on campus, you’ll hear why warm handoffs and follow-through can be the difference between giving up and graduating. 

Music runs through everything. Ash explains how band and orchestra created stability when home didn’t, why “output” matters in a world of constant input, and how returning to performance reconnects her to joy and purpose. We also talk ADHD and executive dysfunction, trauma and hypervigilance, and the surprising calm that can show up in real emergencies, plus the routines and gratitude practices that help us stay steady on hard days. 

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A beard might get someone’s attention, but it’s the choices behind it that tell the real story. Roger DiGangi grew up with instability, missing pieces of family, and the kind of childhood that teaches survival before it teaches joy. When he moved from San Diego to Ellensburg, Washington, the slower rhythm of Central Washington didn’t magically fix everything but it gave him the space to decide who he wanted to become.

We talk candidly about fatherhood as a turning point, what it looks like to stop living on autopilot, and how a kid watching you can become the strongest reason to change. Roger also shares what years in retail at Fred Meyer teach you about people: patterns you can predict, moments you can’t, and the surprising gift of mentoring young employees as they grow from first jobs into real adult lives. If you care about leadership, work ethic, and navigating generational differences, you’ll hear the real-world version without the buzzwords.

Then we get into the work that lights him up: The Bearded Sinners. What started as a social group becomes a nonprofit built around giving back, staying adaptable, and saying yes when the community needs help. We break down the Kittitas Valley Toy Rally, including the November toy drives and the December 5 event with bands, food, auctions, and a clear goal: help local kids get the childhood they deserve.

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Your “healthy habits” can turn into a cage without you noticing. Maren Peterson joins us to tell the full story: growing up in Ellensburg, getting rocked by her parents’ divorce, starting over in Arizona, and then chasing a big dream in Los Angeles fashion school. What looked like motivation on the outside slid into orthorexia, a dangerous pattern of over-exercising and under-eating that left her dehydrated, hospitalized, and finally forced to ask for help.

We get into what eating disorder recovery really requires beyond weight restoration, and how fitness culture can reward the very behaviors that quietly break you down. Marin shares what changed when she stopped training like “more is always better” and started building a balanced relationship with food, rest, and strength. If you’ve ever felt anxious in the gym, stuck in all-or-nothing thinking, or afraid to let someone see your struggle, you’ll hear yourself in this conversation.

We also talk entrepreneurship during COVID, including how she opened and later sold her boutique, then pivoted into personal training because she wanted deeper work than quick transactions. Along the way we unpack non-scale victories, sustainable strength training, confidence, and why community support is the difference between spinning your wheels and actually healing.

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You can hear it in Kyra Pugh’s voice: she’s not here to shame anyone into “better habits.” She’s a registered dietitian, personal trainer, and health coach who has lived the hard parts of health from the inside and her story starts with a near-fatal Type 1 diabetes crisis at age 11. Rapid weight loss, unquenchable thirst, constant bathroom trips, and what looked like a stomach bug turned into diabetic ketoacidosis. Her blood sugar hit 1200. She fell into a coma. She woke up to a life that suddenly required insulin, carb counting, and blood glucose checks every single day. 

We talk honestly about what happens when chronic illness collides with being a kid who just wants to feel normal. Kyra shares how burnout and denial can lead to dangerous complications, including postural hypotension and major health setbacks that made everyday life feel impossible. We also name something that doesn’t get enough daylight in Type 1 diabetes conversations: diabulimia, the intentional skipping of insulin for weight loss, and the serious damage that high blood sugars can cause over time. Along the way, we touch on gastroparesis, body image, and why education without judgment matters so much. 

Kyra also explains how her experience shapes the way she shows up for clients, with empathy, clear guidance, and real-world nutrition coaching that focuses on sustainable change. We close with a simple message of hope: you have the ability to choose, and change starts in the mind. If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a quick review so more people can find it.

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Tacoma doesn’t just give you memories, it gives you a way of moving through the world. Mal Stewman and I start with our shared T-Town roots, then follow the thread that runs through his whole life: learning culture early, noticing who gets left out, and deciding to do something about it.

Mal is the director of the Multicultural Center at Central Washington University, and his story is packed with real lessons about student success, mentoring, and building campus community. We talk about growing up between different worlds, how that shaped his leadership, and why he’s drawn to roles that help students find their place. He also gets honest about setbacks, including flunking out of college and later returning with a new mindset, a master’s degree, and a drive to build systems that support student athletes and everyday students alike.

We go deep on belonging, not as a buzzword, but as a lived need. Mal shares why you won’t belong everywhere, why that’s okay, and how to choose the people who actually reciprocate. We also dig into curiosity as a life skill, especially on a college campus where the faces change but the energy stays young, and you can learn something from everyone if you slow down and listen.

If you’ve ever felt like the odd one out, this conversation offers practical hope and a grounded path forward. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with your take: what does belonging mean to you?

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You can grow up in chaos and still build a peaceful home, but it takes intention, support, and a willingness to tell the truth. Nevada joins me to talk about what it was like to be a kid in a hoarder house, to learn adult worries too early, and to rely on grandparents and extended family as a lifeline when stability at home was not guaranteed.

Nevada also shares the life she’s built today: marriage, two daughters, and a home that stays full of neighborhood kids. We dig into what “breaking generational cycles” actually looks like in real life, from modeling healthy relationships to choosing a different kind of structure than the one you grew up with. She speaks candidly about how being married to a police officer challenged old narratives in her family, and how “good chaos” can exist without the fear and unpredictability that marks generational trauma.

The hardest part of the story is also the most useful for anyone searching for grief support after addiction. Nevada talks about losing her mom, the mix of sadness and relief, and the way a powerful memorial and community support helped her let more of the truth breathe. We also get practical about coping tools: counseling, EMDR therapy, leaning on core people, talking with a physician, exercise, and the protective power of making clear choices, including her decision with Clifford to stop drinking.

If you’re parenting while healing, loving someone in active addiction, or mourning a complicated loss, this conversation offers steady hope without pretending it’s easy. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with the one line that stuck with you.

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Your job title can make you look solid while your inner life quietly falls apart. That’s why this conversation with Johnny Graf hits so hard. Johnny is a long-time Ellensburg educator and former principal who chose to leave public education on purpose, reclaim his childhood name, and step into healing work that centers on presence, grief support, and honest human connection. 

We talk about what happens when you strip away roles like coach, administrator, spouse, parent, and community leader and ask the uncomfortable question: who am I without the status? Johnny shares why “midlife crisis” can be a misleading label for something more real, a midlife transformation where you finally take off the armor you built as a kid. Along the way, we dig into digital disconnection, the way phones can replace eye contact, and why our culture might be craving connection more than it knows how to ask for it. 

Johnny also opens up about leaving the education system despite being successful inside it, including concerns about how schools measure deficiencies early and how boys can be misunderstood, labeled, or pushed to fit an ill-fitting model. From Reiki to “holding space,” we explore what healing actually looks like in practice and why presence can be more powerful than advice. 

If you’re wrestling with burnout, identity, grief, or a nagging sense that you’re meant for something truer, this one is for you. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a friend who needs it, and leave a review with the biggest takeaway you’re applying this week.

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A salon chair can be the most honest place in town. I am joined by Alisha Gordon, a longtime Ellensburg hairstylist and salon owner, to unpack what really happens when people sit down for “just a haircut” and end up sharing their whole lives. We talk about growing up with constant moves, how coming back to a small town helped her get steady, and why deep roots and familiar faces can change your trajectory when you’re headed down a rough path. 

Alisha also tells the story of meeting Jason in high school and building a relationship that lasts through distance, uncertainty, and the messy early adult years. We get into her road toward cosmetology, including the wild alternate timeline where she could’ve gone to beauty school back east and worked around New York City productions. If you’re searching for real talk on marriage, community, and finding work you actually love, her perspective hits home. 

Then we go deeper on what makes the beauty industry so personal: loyalty, trust, and the way stylists quietly become part therapist, part historian, part friend. Alisha shares what it means to serve clients through weddings, babies, hard days, and even hospice and funeral moments where helping someone “look like themselves” becomes an act of dignity and love. We also break down salon leadership, building a welcoming space, and why “Happiness is a choice” can be a daily practice, not a slogan. 

If this conversation makes you think of your own people, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review. What’s one place or person that helps you feel seen?

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