Pay Love Forward

Today, I sat down with state legislative candidate Deanna Daigrepont, who is running for Montana Senate District 19. Deanna is a family practice doctor, domestic abuse survivor, and advocate for the new Evangelical Movement. Deanna grew up in the church and was shaped and molded by Christianity. She also lived through a period of history that led to the merger of Christianity and political conserv...

In this episode, I sat down with congressional candidate, navy lieutenant colonel special operations terrorist and human trafficking hunter and all-around bad ass Alani Bankhead to tell our testimonies of faith.  Over the last year, I have had the privilege of becoming close friends with Alani. We talk just about every week. Certainly, we talk about politics and campaign strategy, but more often t...

Sitting down with Jim Rott, one of the owners of SteepWorld Climbing and Fitness and one of the founding members of the climbing community in Billings Montana, was an absolute honor.  From Gregory Hills  to the disc golf courses at Pioneer and Phipps Park, Jim has built lasting resource after lasting resource that our community continues to benefit from.  Jim was the first person I met in Billings...

In this episode, I had the honor of sitting down with Lily Mae, a leader and advocate whose work in domestic violence has strengthened and protected countless lives across our community. Lily Mae's nonprofit, the Montana Domestic Violence Underground Railroad, helps women all over Montana escape captivity at the hands of domestic violence.  The Underground Railroad is so much more than a chari...

In this limited series, Pay Love Back: Cops, Robbers, and Rappers, we focus on the interconnected story of leadership, mentorship, and redemption surrounding a young man named Koa Hutchinson. Three men, Officer Brett Hilde, Coal Hill, also known as Killa C, and myself, have each invested in Koa in very different ways. When I first moved to Billings, I worked in a group home at Youth Dynamics. That...

In this limited series, Pay Love Back: Cops, Robbers, andRappers, we focus on the interconnected story of leadership, mentorship, and redemption surrounding a young man and ex-gang member named Koa Hutchinson. Three men, Officer Brett Hilde, Coal Hill, also known as KillaC, and myself, have each invested in Koa in very different ways.  Part Two is with Coul Hill, aka Killa C, a juggalo and shock h...

In this limited series, Cops, Robbers, andRappers, we focus on the interconnected story of leadership, mentorship, and redemption surrounding a young man and ex-gang member named Koa Hutchinson.  Three men, Officer Brett Hilde, Coal Hill, also known as Killa C, and myself, have each invested in Koa in very different ways. Part One begins with Officer Brett Hilde, Koa’s arrestingofficer, who shares...

For this episode, I sat down with one of my mentors and one of the founding builders of the program I benefited so muchfrom.  Dr. Mark Manzanarez was one of the founders of Adam’s State’s online Counselor Education Program where I receivedboth my Masters and PhD.  Mark also received two degrees from Adams State, both as a football player during hisundergraduate degree in psychology and then in his...

For this Episode about faith and the Holy Spirit, I sat down with two pastors at the Grey Cliff Mill, Matt Brandstadt and Jake Klingen-Smith.  I have felt for a very long time that Billings is a spiritual battle field.  As a follower of Christ, I am called to spread the story of salvation.  My faith has been an unfolding journey. In so many ways, this conversation is a continuation of my testimony...

This series on story as nonviolent resistance has been aboutone thing: who controls the narrative landscape and what does it mean to tell an authentic story.  This episode was recorded in May of 2026, right before the pivotal June primaries and November elections, we are faced with the daunting reality of the level of bad-faith influence and deception surrounding politics.  In the age of AI, dark...

In this episode, I sit down with Ed Doctor, Brian Miller,and Sam Lux.  Ed and his crew at the Beer, Buds, and Big Sky podcast have been defending our. information streams.  The BBBS podcast has amassed a significant followership by telling a better story, through comedy, and an authenticity that Montanans and Americans are flocking to.  Brian and Sam are and running for congress in the same electi...

In this episode, the second of our women’s issues series, congressional candidate Alani Bankhead and I sat down with Ashley and Talee to discuss the disappearance of Jamee Grossman, Ashley’s sister, and Talee’s mother.  Jamee went missing in 2012 and has not been seen since.  According to the nonstop local, Jamee was last seen at a party with her boyfriend Frank Hammontree who reported dropping he...

This is part one of a series focused on women’s issues. One in five women in the United States report experiencing sexual assault in their lifetime. One in three women experience some form of sexual violence. Many cases go unreported, with only about one in three assaults ever reaching law enforcement. Experts consistently say actual numbers are significantly higher due to underreporting. These tr...

This is Part Three of the series on Story as Nonviolent Resistance . It was recorded in an open Zoom meeting and live-streamed on Facebook. Dr. Matthew Leavenworth is joined by Brian Miller, a Helena attorney and congressional candidate in Montana. Brian has spent the last fifteen years practicing law across the state, working in both state and federal courts. He is now running for Congress in Mon...

In this episode of the Pay Love Forward Podcast, Dr. Matthew Leavenworth sits down with Alani Bankhead, a third generation military veteran who served more than twenty years in the United States Air Force. Her career included counterintelligence investigations, human intelligence operations alongside special operations targeting terrorist networks, and service as the senior bodyguard to a top Pent...

For Part Two of Story as Nonviolent Resistance, I sat down with Danielle Dahl, a doctoral candidate and the founder of Resilient Stories.  Resilient Stories is an organization dedicated to creating spaces for people to share lived experiences shaped by adversity, recovery, and resilience. Danielle works in my home town of Billings Montana, facilitating storytelling events, supporting community dia...

Story as Nonviolent Resistance (Part One) In this first lecture of a new series, Dr. Matthew Leavenworth explores how story shapes power, perception, and belonging, and why narrative has always been one of the most effective tools for resisting authoritarian systems. Drawing from history, psychology, literature, and lived experience, Matthew examines how fear compresses human complexity into rigid...

In this episode of the Pay Love Forward Podcast, Dr. Matthew Leavenworth sits down with Penny Ronning, a nationally recognized advocate whose life’s work has helped shape Montana’s response to human trafficking and sexual violence through survivor-centered policy, public safety, and moral leadership. Rooted in Pay Love Forward’s mission to build compassionate communities for the at-risk and unders...

In this episode, I sit down with my dear friend and longtime climbing partner, Alex Saunders. Over the years, Alex and I haveshared ropes and storms, long runouts and longer conversations. We’ve stood together on ledges halfway up the world, and we’ve stood beside each other as best men at our weddings. Our lives have been braided together by miles ofgranite and sandstone and years of trust. We ta...

My name is Dr. Matthew Leavenworth, founder and director of Pay Love Forward. This episode was recorded live during a Zoom meeting with small group leaders at Harvest Church on December 21, 2025.Over the past six months, pastor Alex Falder and I have been working with the small group leaders on how story shapes community while taking them through our certification in Mentoring, Coaching, and Leade...

In this episode, I sat down with Russ Cleveland, who is running for the U.S. House of Representatives. And before long, his wife Kate joined us. What unfolded was not a political conversation, but a human one. Russ and Kate shared how their story began, long before policy or campaigns, when two fourteen-year-olds met on twoboats off the coast of Washington and began a love story that would one day...

In this episode of the Pay Love Forward Podcast , I sit down with my father, Dr. Paul Leavenworth, founder of the Center for Mentoring, Coaching, and Leadership Development. His work represents the culmination of a lifetime devoted to leadership, transformation, and the building of compassionate communities. Together, we trace the story of how the Center was born and explore what it means to lead...

In this episode of the Pay Love Forward Podcast , I sit down with my mother, Leslie Leavenworth, an award-winning watercolor artist whose work captures both the beauty of the world around her and the sacred interior landscape within. Our conversation traces the arc of her creative journey, from the docks of the James River where she first painted beside her father, to the long season of quiet sacr...

In this episode, Dr. Matthew Leavenworth sits down with Dr. Bob Wilmouth, physician, educator, and president of Rocky Mountain College. His journey from heart surgery to higher education reveals what leadership looks like when it is rooted in love, humility, and service to others. Dr. Wilmouth often says that leadership is more difficult than heart surgery and that ninety percent of life is showin...

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 th...