Podcast
Deep Dive with Dr D
Hosted by Dr. David A Douglas · EN
Discussions on life and living with Dr D. who is a man who has risen from the lowest depths of life to the amazing life he has now. Podcast includes interviews with guest from a wide variety of walks of life.
19episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Small-Town Growth Done Right - w/guest Amy McGuffin
3d ago01:04:14Tap to summarizeGrowth in a rural county can feel like a slow sunrise or a sudden flood, depending on where you stand. Today we sit down with Amy McGuffin, CEO of the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce, to talk about what’s changing across Ellensburg, Cle Elum, Roslyn, and the rest of the county and what we can do to keep the best parts intact while still building a future people can afford to live in.We get practical about local economic development and small business support, including why the Chamber has shifted toward resources and connections instead of trying to run everything. Amy explains why operating in silos weakens a community, how real progress comes from collaboration, and why showing up to meetings matters if you want a voice in growth decisions. We also dig into workforce development, career and technical education, and the talent pipeline, because Amy names the hard truth many towns avoid: “our biggest export is our youth.”From Winco and infrastructure to water, utilities, and affordability, we talk through the tradeoffs leaders face and why “preserving rural character” has to be more than a slogan. Amy also shares the human side of leadership: staying grounded, avoiding burnout, and keeping kindness in the room when politics gets personal and emotions run hot.If you care about Ellensburg, Kittitas County, and smart, balanced growth, hit subscribe, share this with a neighbor, and leave a review so more people can find the conversation. Social Media LinksSupport the show
Transcribe →Energy Healing Without The Hype - w/guest Laura White
2w ago00:54:58Tap to summarizeSpiritual work gets labeled “woo” fast, especially if you’ve been burned by religion or you’re the kind of person who wants evidence before you buy in. That’s why this conversation with Laura White hits different. Laura is the owner of Spiritual Awakenings in Ellensburg, WA, and she’s built a real brick-and-mortar practice around Reiki, tarot, mediumship, and natural healing without talking down to skeptics or trying to “convert” anyone.We get into what led her here, from a painful childhood shaped by a strict Southern Baptist environment to years of questioning, research across belief systems, and learning how to live with unusual spiritual sensitivity. We also talk openly about how recovery and healing overlap: the triggers that come up when you help others, the way peace arrives in small sections, and why labels can sometimes do more harm than good.Laura breaks down Reiki and energy work in plain terms, including the idea that stress lives in the body, that intuition can feel like a sudden “download,” and that empathy is often a real sensitivity to the people around us. We explore grounding through nature, why crystals and herbs show up in spiritual practice, and the biggest misconception about tarot: a reading isn’t a fixed future, it’s a snapshot of current energies and you still have free will.If you’ve been curious but unsure where to start, this one is for you. Subscribe so you don’t miss the next conversation, share this with a friend who needs a softer path to healing, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Social Media LinksSupport the show
Transcribe →Young And Building w/guest Hannah Singer
3w ago00:38:13Tap to summarizeYou can feel it when someone is building a life on purpose, not just collecting milestones. Hannah Singer is 21, about to graduate college, married young, a homeowner, and already growing Homestead Design Company, and she’s honest about the parts that look exciting and the parts that feel heavy. We talk about what it’s like to be ahead of your peer group in some ways, behind in others, and still unsure where you “fit” when everyone’s timeline looks different.We also dig into interior design in a way that’s practical for real homes and real budgets. Hannah explains why good home design is never just about pretty rooms, and why function matters as much as style if you want to feel comfortable and safe in your own space. She pushes back on the idea that design is only for millionaires or big city clients, and shares how she thinks about budget friendly design, problem solving, and helping clients love what they already have.The conversation keeps coming back to identity, gratitude, and ambition. We unpack “keeping up with the Joneses,” the pressure of comparing your progress to your parents or your friends, and the daily choice to stay grounded while you keep working. Hannah also shares advice for young adults who are trying to figure life out right now: ask for opportunities, follow up, build experience, and do not let arrogance replace effort.If you’re navigating marriage in your early 20s, starting a small business, choosing between college and trades, or trying to build a stable life in Central Washington, you’ll find a lot to take from this one. Subscribe for more conversations like this, share it with someone who’s in their “figuring it out” season, and leave a review with the biggest takeaway you’re applying this week. Social Media LinksSupport the show
Transcribe →Roots And Reinvention - w/guest Rolf Williams
Apr 1900:48:22Tap to summarizeA lot of people think a “successful” business is one that expands nonstop, chases scale, and looks impressive on paper. We see something different when we talk with Rolf Williams, an Ellensburg native and the owner of Jerrol's, a long-running local business with deep roots that stretch back to 1947. Rolf shares how a store can survive for generations by staying flexible about what it sells while staying stubbornly consistent about who it serves.We dig into the real history of Jerrol's, from soda fountain beginnings and a drive-through diner era to the textbook years and the modern shift into retail, online ordering, and business-to-business office supply delivery. Along the way, Rolf explains the mindset that makes adaptation possible: continuous improvement, clear values, and a refusal to treat customers like transactions. If you care about small-town entrepreneurship, independent bookstore survival, and competing with Amazon through service, this conversation is packed with practical insight.The most meaningful part gets personal. As a father of an adult child with profound autism, Rolf talks about autism acceptance, disability, and how isolation can quietly shrink a family’s world when support is hard to find. We also talk about leadership, hiring, and what it takes to give people real opportunity without assumptions, plus advice for parents who have just received a diagnosis and don’t know where to start.If you want more grounded conversations on community, business leadership, and building a life that lasts, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Social Media LinksSupport the show
Transcribe →Sisters Talk Survival - w/guests Tina Wood & Cheri Gumm
Apr 1200:44:49Tap to summarizeYou can hear it in the way we laugh and the way we hesitate before certain details: some childhoods don’t fade, they echo. I’m Dr. D, and I sit down with my sisters Tina and Cheri for a raw family conversation about what it takes to grow up in chaos and still fight for a better life. We talk about the mix of love and damage that can exist in the same home, the moves that felt like evictions and escapes, and the quiet coping skills kids build when adults aren’t safe. Tina shares the moment a simple question from our brother forced her to look at her choices and stop repeating patterns. Cheri talks about surviving childhood sexual abuse, how it shaped her self-worth, and why becoming a police officer made her tougher but also emotionally colder. We get honest about grooming, about abusers who look “respectable,” and about the way families and communities can minimize harm when speaking up feels inconvenient. We also shift into practical hope: how to parent after trauma without raising kids in fear. We cover real-world child safety boundaries, building trust so kids will actually tell you the truth, and tools like family passwords and only visiting homes where you truly know the adults. If you’re healing from childhood trauma, sexual abuse, addiction, or toxic relationships, you’ll hear why journaling, slowing down, and choosing the right people can change everything. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with the one lesson you’re taking into your own life. Social Media LinksSupport the show
Transcribe →What If Being Available Is The Real Success - w/guest Cecil Velasquez
Apr 500:49:58Tap to summarizeHe comes across calm for a reason. Cecil Velasquez has lived the kind of life that forces you to choose: keep drifting toward chaos or become the person people can count on.Cecil and I talk about the moments that shaped him most, including being in trouble as a teenager, the reality check of juvenile detention, and the gut-punch phone call that his best friend had been shot and killed. We connect those experiences to what he values now: family, community, accountability, and showing up. If you’re a parent, a mentor, or a manager trying to lead with steadiness, you’ll hear exactly how “being present” becomes a skill you can practice, not just a nice idea.We also get real about recovery and behavior change. Cecil shares what led him to change his relationship with alcohol and marijuana, how his wife’s recovery first motivated him, and why it eventually became a decision he made for himself. We dig into harm reduction, the hidden cost of daily habits that seem “functional,” and what starts to shift when your mind is clear and your money is still in your account. Along the way, we touch on faith, purpose, loneliness, and the power of second chances when the right person believes in you.If you’ve ever felt stuck, ashamed, or alone, this one is a reminder that growth can start with one honest choice and one honest conversation. Subscribe for more, share this with someone who needs hope, and leave a review so more people can find the show. Social Media LinksSupport the show
Transcribe →A Mom’s Hidden Drinking & The Road To One Year Sober (w/guest Bailey Duncan)
Mar 2900:48:54Tap to summarizeShe looked successful. She felt trapped. That’s the gap at the center of functional alcoholism, and Bailey Duncan names it with brutal clarity.I talk with Bailey, an Ellensburg barber shop owner, wife, and mom, about how addiction can hide inside a full life. She shares what it was like to drink throughout the day and still keep working, how White Claw became the “acceptable” version of dependence, and why the real price wasn’t only financial. It was anxiety, fear, and the exhausting mental loop of trying to control the next day by managing the next drink.From there, we move into what actually helped: getting honest with someone safe, finding a recovery community and building balance across physical health, emotional health, and spiritual health. Bailey breaks down her all-or-nothing patterns and how she learns to redirect intensity into routines that support sobriety. We also dig into relapse, why shame keeps people stuck, and how “go for a minute, then an hour” can be a realistic way to start.If you’re a parent, a high achiever, or anyone who feels caught between “I’m fine” and “I can’t stop,” this conversation offers practical hope. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review with the takeaway you’re using this week. Social Media LinksSupport the show
Transcribe →Live Better Longer - w/guest Ian Quitadamo
Mar 1501:05:42Tap to summarizeYour body keeps score, even when you feel “fine.” I sit down with Dr. Ian Quitadamo, a professor, scientist, and internationally certified integrative health practitioner, to talk about what it actually takes to live better longer and why most of us never get that roadmap in a rushed medical system. Ian’s work became personal when his wife faced cancer, and the experience sharpened his mission: help people advocate for their health with clarity, compassion, and zero judgment.We dig into what integrative health really means in practice: not just nutrition or fitness, but sleep, stress, toxin load, emotional balance, recovery, and sustainable behavior change. Ian explains why functional medicine lab testing can be a reality check amid endless social media advice, and how tracking data over time can reveal problems before they become symptoms. We also get tactical about everyday levers that cost nothing, like consistent sleep, getting morning light to support circadian rhythm, and short post-meal walks that improve blood sugar and insulin sensitivity.Then we go deep on heart health and cholesterol myths. Ian breaks down the lipoprotein “truck” analogy, why statins can help some people but still leave gaps, and which lab markers to ask your doctor about, including ApoB and lipoprotein(a). We also touch on GLP-1 weight loss drugs, the importance of reading risk labels, and why real, sustainable weight loss can still come from delicious whole foods and steady support.If this conversation gives you one thing, I hope it is a stronger sense that your health is shaped by the decisions you make today and that you do not have to do it alone. Subscribe for more, share this with someone who’s trying to change, and leave a review so more people can find us. What is one health question you want to start asking with confidence? Social Media LinksSupport the show
Transcribe →Rooted In Service, Driven To Lead (w/guest Kevin Willette)
Mar 800:56:52Tap to summarizeWhat if integrity isn’t a slogan but a set of small, unseen choices that change lives over time? We sit down with Ellensburg’s own Kevin Willette—a patrol corporal, senior SWAT operator, defensive tactics coordinator, and youth wrestling coach—to unpack a life rooted in service, shaped by family, and tested by the hardest calls a community can face.Kevin takes us from his family’s towing business and volunteer firefighting legacy to the long route into policing through a no-pay reserve program. He shares how wrestling built his engine for resilience, why doing the “whole job” matters more than the quick job, and how leadership starts with meticulous case work and honest self-assessment. We get real about addiction: the trauma beneath the symptoms, the limits of “arrest it away,” and the power of coordinated resources like drug court and jail-based treatment when balanced with accountability. Kevin’s perspective is both tough and human—pursue the dealers, offer a hand to the users, and never confuse a person’s worst day with their entire identity.Beyond the badge, Kevin talks boundaries and balance. Coaching 57 kids, camping deep in the backcountry, and answering to “Coach” at the grocery store keep him grounded and hopeful. He explains how he processes brutal scenes without bringing the darkness home, swaps numbing for healthier coping, and turns after-action reflection into better decisions on the next call. We close with a direct message to anyone feeling stuck: name the problem, cut the toxic noise, build a plan, and move—because your identity isn’t your past, it’s your next honest step.If this conversation resonated, tap follow, share it with a friend who needs a nudge, and leave a quick review so more people can find stories that move them forward. Social Media LinksSupport the show
Transcribe →Design That Feels Like Home w/guest Stephanie Castillo
Mar 100:46:25Tap to summarizeWhat if your space could make you braver? That’s the question that kept surfacing as we sat down with interior designer and community catalyst Stephanie Castillo of Rumble Interiors. Stephanie started behind a salon chair, felt the strain of long days on her body, and followed a nudge into design school while working full-time and raising two kids. That grit carried into a partnership with Renee, a shared studio that doubles as an event hub, and a bold pivot through COVID that turned challenges into momentum.We unpack how design goes far beyond pretty rooms. Stephanie shows how feng shui and curated choices change the way we think and feel—why a tense heirloom can drain energy every time you pass it, and how albums, art, and objects with real stories create a home that loves you back. She breaks down hospitality essentials that make customers stay longer and spend more: layered lighting over harsh fluorescents, chairs that actually fit bodies, purse hooks under bars, and textures that invite you to exhale. Thoughtful ambiance is not fluff; it’s strategy.Stephanie also opens up about the business side. Early tax mistakes, the relief of hiring a bookkeeper, and the power of asking for help became the backbone of her practice. Mentorship threads through everything: from DM’ing a local designer for coffee to building an incubator space for founders who need a launchpad. Her Wine Women Wednesday community even “cash mobs” local shops to turn small purchases into big days. If you’re sitting on a creative dream, her playbook is clear—start tiny, stack wins, find a mentor, and jump when fear says you’re close to something important.Hit play for a grounded, energizing conversation about design as daily wellbeing, business as community care, and how to shape rooms that help people become who they are. If this resonated, subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review so others can find the show. What’s the first small step you’ll take today? Social Media LinksSupport the show
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