Welcome to the Pay Love Forward Podcast.
My name is Dr. Matthew Leavenworth, founder and director of Pay Love Forward. This series focuses on telling stories of our unsung heroes unfolding in the great state of Montana.
At Pay Love Forward, our mission is to build compassionate communities for the at-risk and underserved through mentorship. This podcast is one way we live out that mission.

In this episode — Part Two of “Loving from the Sidelines” — we turn from Mitch Bohn’s vision for inclusion to the life story that forged it. Mitch, advocate, storyteller, and founder of Access Billings, shares what it was like growing up with spina bifida, the mentors who shaped his confidence, and the people who carried him through more than thirty surgeries.

We also talk about his why — what kept him resilient through pain, adversity, and doubt — and how his love for people and purpose became the foundation for everything he’s built.
Our conversation also touched something deeply personal for me — our shared experience of spending long seasons in the hospital: Mitch through his surgeries, and me walking beside my son through leukemia. Together we reflected on the medical professionals who served us with tireless compassion, and how those moments of care became turning points in both our lives.

This is a conversation about perseverance, identity, and the quiet grace that comes from loving life — and others — despite hardship.
It’s my deepest honor to share Mitch’s story. The world needs better stories — and Loving from the Sidelines is one of them.

Welcome to the Pay Love Forward Podcast—where we share stories of the unsung heroes shaping the heart of Montana. I’m your host, Dr. Matthew Leavenworth, founder and director of Pay Love Forward, a nonprofit dedicated to building compassionate communities for the at-risk and underserved through mentorship.

In this episode—the first of a two-part series titled “Loving from the Sidelines”—I sit down with Mitch Bohn, advocate, storyteller, and founder of Access Billings. Born with spina bifida, Mitch has spent his life navigating challenges most never see, becoming a powerful voice for accessibility, inclusion, and quiet perseverance.

Fresh off his recent TED Talk, Mitch shared a line that has stayed with me:

“We celebrate trophies, titles, promotions, and highlight reels—but the game isn’t the same without those who love it from the sidelines.”

That sentiment became the heart of our conversation. Together, we talk about his talk, his podcast Wide Left Sports, his love for baseball, and his work amplifying voices that deserve to be heard. Beneath it all, this episode is about resilience, belonging, and the power of love expressed not through spotlight, but through presence.

And there’s a special moment in this one—when my son Gentry joins the conversation. Gentry needs the world Mitch envisions: a world built on accessibility, compassion, and the simple belief that everyone belongs.

Mitch reminds us that accessibility isn’t about charity—it’s about recognizing that every role matters. The sidelines, as he says, aren’t a place of limitation—they’re a place of strength.

It’s my deepest honor to share his story. The world needs better stories—and Loving from the Sidelines is one of them.

Host: Dr. Matthew Leavenworth (Pay Love Forward Podcast) Guests: Dr. Don Harr, Pam Harr, Senator Mike Yakawich

At 101 years old, Dr. Don Harr carries history in his voice. In this episode I sit down with a living legend of Billings — a WWII veteran, the city’s second psychiatrist, a founding memberof the Suicide Prevention Coalition, a leader at the Mental Health Center, and a quiet healer who still offers free counseling and grief groups from his home. We’re joined by his daughter Pam and by Senator Mike Yakawich, who has beenmentored by Dr. Harr for more than a decade.

This conversation moves between wide-open stories and hushed moments. Dr. Harr tells of growing up in Kansas,of the war (including a near miss from a sniper’s bullet), and of a lifetime spent mentoring and shepherding others. We revisit a moment that became deeply personal for me — the day he fell before a cross-community reconciliation panel and, refusing to stay home, rose to speak about faith and healing. We talktheology and philosophy, the steady, practical faith that guided his work, and the veteran’s aphorism he lives by: pain is weakness leaving the body.

If you lean in, you’ll find enormous wisdom: practical,pastoral, and full of grace. It was an honor to record this — a rare sit-down with one of my personal heroes. I hope Dr. Harr’s story inspires you the way it inspires me.

Host: Dr. Matthew Leavenworth (Pay Love Forward Podcast)
Guests: Dr. Don Harr, Pam Harr, Senator Mike Yakawich

At 101 years old, Dr. Don Harr carries history in his voice. In this episode I sit down with a living legend of Billings — a WWII veteran, the city’s second psychiatrist, a founding member of the Suicide Prevention Coalition, a leader at the Mental Health Center, and a quiet healer who still offers free counseling and grief groups from his home. We’re joined by his daughter Pam and by Senator Mike Yakawich, who has been mentored by Dr. Harr for more than a decade.

This conversation moves between wide-open stories and hushed moments. Dr. Harr tells of growing up in Kansas, of the war (including a near miss from a sniper’s bullet), and of a lifetime spent mentoring and shepherding others. We revisit a moment that became deeply personal for me — the day he fell before a cross-community reconciliation panel and, refusing to stay home, rose to speak about faith and healing. We talk theology and philosophy, the steady, practical faith that guided his work, and the veteran’s aphorism he lives by: pain is weakness leaving the body.

If you lean in, you’ll find enormous wisdom: practical, pastoral, and full of grace. It was an honor to record this — a rare sit-down with one of my personal heroes. I hope Dr. Harr’s story stirs you the way it stirred me.

In this episode, I sit down with Elyssa Leininger, a Billings native and leading voice in the public art movement. Elyssa is an accomplished artist whose work spans the state and beyond, but she is best known for her public murals, artworks that have transformed spaces across Billings, from the iconic 6th Street Underpass to the Mental Health and Crisis Centers, bringing light and beauty to some of our most vulnerable neighbors.

We begin with the 6th Street Underpass, where Elyssa painted her very first mural in 2020. Contracted through the city for less than a thousand dollars, she poured over a thousand hours into her concrete canvas. The result is a tapestry of sunrise and wildlife, featuring buffalo, elk, and eagles. If you haven’t walked through or driven by, it’s worth a stop and a honk of appreciation.

It was an honor to share this conversation. I hope her story inspires you as deeply as it has inspired me. The world needs better stories, and Pay Love Forward exists to tell them.

In this first episode, Dr. Matthew Leavenworth, founder of Pay Love Forward, sits down with world-renowned concert pianist Tanner Jorden to explore his remarkable journey from Billings, Montana to the international stage.

Recently accepted into the master’s program at The Juilliard School, Tanner has already performed across the globe, from Israel to Carnegie Hall. In this conversation, we talk about his development as a musician, his spiritual connection to music, and the role that mentorship has played in shaping his growth.

Tanner also shares about his partnership with his wife, violinist Caroline Jorden, who he first met while performing with the Aspen Grove Trio. The trio’s cross-country, garage-band-style tour brings them full circle to Billings, the last stop before the next chapter of their journey in New York.

The episode closes with a profound moment: Tanner’s performance and interpretation of Shostakovich’s Piano Trio No. 2, a piece forged in the shadows of World War II and the Holocaust. His reflections reveal how music not only moves us but also serves as witness to history’s deepest wounds.

This episode captures the heart of Pay Love Forward’s mission to build compassionate communities through mentorship and storytelling. Tanner’s story is a testament to resilience, creativity, and the transformative power of human connection.