Dad to Dad Podcast

Our guest this week is Duncan Keya of Nairobi, Kenya, the father of four children and a Designated Migration Officer at the Canadian High Commission in Nairobi. Duncan and his wife, wife, Faith, have been married for six years and are the proud parents of four children: Luka (5), who has Autism, Khalayi (2) who has Albinism and two other children: Keith (13) and Kaylee (6) from another relationshi...

Our guest this week is William "Bill" Strickland, Jr. of Pittsburg, PA, a John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Genius Fellow, founder of Bidwell Training Center and Manchester Craftsman's Guild, an author, and a former pilot. Bill is the quintessential social entrepreneur. Through his love of the arts and specifically pottery, Bill has been offering welfare moms, out of work steel workers and at-risk...

Our guest this week is Damion Navarro of Frankfort, IL, owner of NES Environmental, a father of three, including son Carter, who has Down Syndrome, and now a farmer! Damion and his wife, Sherri, are co-founders of Navarro Farm, a place to grow and employ people with all types of ability. We’ll hear Damion’s and the Navarro Farm story in this Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast. Navarro Farm...

Our guest this week is Jeremiah Kuria of Maaimahiu, Kenya, the father of three adult children and co-founder of Ubuntu Life, a Non-Governmental Organization and global lifestyle brand that provides economic security to hundreds of families raising children with special needs. Jeremiah reflects on his growing up in Escarpment, Kenya as the oldest of six children, the cultural differences, his pater...

Our guest this week is Josh LaBelle, Executive Director of the Seattle Theatre Group, a former drummer for musicians Sam Phillips and T Bone Burnett and a father of two including son Levi (8) who has extreme ADHD and speech issues. We’ll hear Josh’s story including his own challenges with Epilepsy and how the Seattle Theatre Group runs a program to provide theatre that caters to families raising c...

Our guest this week is Spela Mirosovic. who is a psychotherapist and biopsychologist, working as a researcher at the Medical University Ljubljana. Her work is focused on exploring unmet needs of cancer survivors and teaching mindfulness programs. Spela is also a mother to 2-year-old Urban who was diagnosed with CTNNB1, a rare autosomal genetic disorder that affects an estimated 1 out of 50,000 chi...

Our guest this week is Susanna Peace-Lovell, a single mother, certified life coach and advocate for the health and wellness of all special needs families. Susanna's daughter, Arizona, has ADHD, Eczema, severe food allergies, sensory and auditory processing disorders as well as Autism. We’ll hear Susanna’s story, her work as a life coach and her dedication to serve families raising children with sp...

Our guest this week is Al Freedman of West Chester, PA a Psychologist who specializes in counseling families touched by rare disease and disability. Al is a divorced father of two adult children; Cara (21) and Jack (26), who had Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a rare neuromuscular disorder, leaving him wheel chair and ventilator dependent. David Hirsch recorded this interview with Al in August, 202...

Our guest this week is Miguel Sancho, of Larchmont, NY a journalist and an Emmy award winning TV producer. Miguel and his wife, Felicia Morton, have been married for 16 years and are the proud parents of two; Lydia (13) and Sebastian (9), who was diagnosed with CGD, Chronic Granulomatous Disease, a rare genetic disorder in which white blood cells called phagocytes are unable to kill certain types...

Our guest this week is Eliya Stromberg, the founder of Fathers Connect and author of Chosen Fathers. Eliya and his wife Esther have several grandchildren and parent of three grown children, including Ariel (32) who has Down Syndrome. We’ll hear Eliya’s story about growing up in Los Angeles, taking degrees from UC Berkeley, Yeshiva University (NYC) and University of Kansas and how his career took h...

Our guest on this SFN Dad To Dad Podcast 'Special Report' is SFN Mentor Father Ruslan Vasyutin of Kiev Ukraine, the father of a nine year old daughter with Cerebral Palsy, who is unable walk or talk. Today March 9, 2022 marks day 14 since Russia sent its army into Ukraine. This unprovoked and hostile action has upended the lives of all Ukrainians and put Ukraine at the Geopolitcal center of the wo...

Our guest this week is Shandra Cubin, co-founder of Special Hearts, a dating app for parents of kids with special needs. Shandra and her husband, Rich, have two children, including a son, Koen, who has been diagnosed with Seizure Disorder and Hyperlexia, which includes the ability to read at a surprisingly early age and often accompanied by an obsessive interest in letters and numbers. We’ll hear...

Our guest this week is Amjad Farah, of Livonia, MI who is a global account director at PPG. Amjad and his wife Buthayna, have been married for 27 years and are the proud parents of three children: Amal (26), Sadallah (25) and Abdullah (19) who was diagnosed with Epilepsy and moderate to severe cognitive impairment. We’ll hear Ahmad’s family story, their immigration from the West Bank in Palestine,...

Our guest this week is Tom D’Amato of St. Charles, IL who is a Patient Advocate at Horizon Therapeutics, a company dedicated to delivering medicines for rare, autoimmune and severe inflammatory diseases. Tom and his wife, Ashley, have been married for 13 years are the proud parents of three, including two of whom have special healthcare needs. Callie has a rare kidney disease, and Brody has Period...

Our guest this week is Edgar Pacheco, Sr., of Pearland, TX, a senior paralegal and father of three, including oldest child Edgar Jr. who was born without arms or legs. We’ll hear the story of the two Edgars, from senior's growing up in Huatulco, Mexico, his immigration to the U.S., the family's faith as well as Edgar junior's knack for politics and how he has been transforming lives. That’s all on...

Our guest this week is Mark Miller, of Marietta, GA a self proclaimed 'chicken salesman' and one of the original employees at Chick-fil-A, where he has worked for more than 40 years and currently serves as Vice-President of High Performance Leadership. Mark is a best selling author or co-author of nine books with more than one million copies in print and in 25+ languages. Mark is also a well respe...

Our guest this week is Leonard Boston of Kalamazoo, MI, a retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer, real estate agent, board member of Parent To Parent (P2P) USA, and father of four, including a daughter with Angelman Syndrome. Lenn and his wife, LaTrieva, have been married for 13 years and are the proud parents of four children: Kenyana (31), Ashante (28), Maleek (26) and Chloe(11), who was diagnose...

Our guest this week is Agust Kristmanns, of Reykjavik, Iceland an electrician with three children, including middle child Ingi (20) who was diagnosed with 2Q37 Deletion Syndrome, a rare chromosome condition affecting an estimated 300 people in the world. Because of Ingi's late diagnosis, at age 11, he was denied access to resources, which prompted the family to sue the education ministry. We’ll he...

Our guest this week is Jason Hsieh of University Park, WA. Jason and his wife Miho have been married for 11 years and are the proud parents of three children: Moani (3) who has speech delays, Luana (7) who was diagnosed with Leukemia, and Keanu (10), who has Autism and ADHD. Jason is founder of LakiKid, a company whose motto is to 'Empower Kids To Have A Life Full Of Possibilities' and that sells...

Our guest this week is Dr. John DeGarmo of Monticello, GA. John and his wife, Kelly, are parents to six children and have opened their hearts and home to more than 60 foster children. John is founder of the Foster Care Institute, the country's premiere resource for all things foster care. His TEDx Talk entitled: 'Children In Need: Children Ignored' has been viewed more than 25K times. John has als...

Our guest this week is Don “DJ” Joss, owner of DJ’s Sportscards in Renton, Washington. Don and his wife, Amy, are parents to 21 children, including 14 adopted children (from China, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Taiwan, and Bulgaria) as well as 10 with special needs. We’ll hear Don’s incredible story about opening their home and hearts as well as their faith journey and more on this Special Fathers Network...

David Hirsch’s guest this week on the SFN Dad to Dad Podcast is Josh Poynter of Bowling Green, KY who is an estimator with Snake Steel in Nashville, TN. Josh and his wife, Monica, are parents to two boys, Tag and and their second son, Trey who was adopted from China. Both boys have Hemophilia. We’ll hear the Poynter family story including the inspiration to adopt a second child. We also learn abou...

David Hirsch’s guest this week is Scott Newport, an advocate for those with disabilities and special needs. Scott and his x-wife are parents of three including Evan, who sadly passed away at age 7, after fighting Noonan syndrome. We’ll hear how Scott dealt with this tragic loss, his advocacy for families touched by special health care needs, his writings including being par t of the Chicken Soup F...

David Hirsch’s guest this week on The Special Fathers Network Dad to Dad Podcast is Gary Martinez of Colorado Springs, CO, a personal fitness trainer, author and single father of two, including Monica, who is on the Autism Spectrum. We’ll hear how Gary has used his fitness training principles to help train Monica to live a happier and better life as well as how he navigates being an involved singl...

David Hirsch’s guest this week is Louis Geigerman, founder of National ARD/IEP Advocates, a firm that represents parents of children with special needs in schools throughout Texas. Louis is the father of two, including son Ben, who had Aspergers and tragically took his own life, shortly after graduating cum laude from Texas State University. We’ll hear the Geigerman family story as well as the Ben...