Bend Don't Break

Nancy Zadoff and her husband Paul relocated to Bend several years ago after working and living in various locations around the globe including Australia, Europe and California. They vacationed in Central Oregon for years and always knew they would make Bend their final stop. Nancy, one of seven children, grew up in her parent’s gardens and always loved every aspect of gardening. In her former care...

Kenny Adams is a writer, designer, film maker, and a father. As Executive Director of The Father’s Group, Kenny has bolstered and strengthened The Ujima Youth Program, developed the Night Out With The Father’s Group series, developed and administered The Father’s Group Film Festival featuring his own documentary, Blend, in which he interviews many Black residents of Central Oregon. Kenny has an IT...

Craig Brauner is a theatre artist and educator who's called Central Oregon home since 2018. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, he has starred in over 80 productions across the country with prominent regional theatres as well as numerous workshops, readings and devised pieces. He obtained his MFA in Acting from the University of California-Irvine and BFA from the University of Evansville. H...

Summer 2023 includes a whopping 51 shows at the Hayden Homes Amphitheater in Bend, just one show fewer than last year. Ahead of the big season, marketing director for Hayden Homes Amphitheater and the Old Mill, Beau Eastes, chats with the Source crew about the partnership with Live Nation, memorable shows from past years and more. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Food writer, food stylist, recipe tester, cookbook editor, podcast producer/host are a few of the creative hats Donna Britt wears. Donna loves to hike, paddle board and spend quality time with family and friends. Oh, and she also collects cookbooks and cast iron cooking vessels. As a revered member of the Source eating team, she was part of the crew that helped to name our Restaurants of the Year...

Redmond, Oregon has a new political action committee aimed at helping quality candidates navigate and fund their efforts in the political process. In this podcast we chat with one of the founders of the Building Redmond's Future PAC, Adam DuQuette. Adam DuQuette lives in Redmond where he works from home full-time as a software engineer. He graduated from Oregon State University-Cascades in 20...

Oregon became the first state to legalize psilocybin therapy when voters approved Measure 109 in 2020. The state did so under strict parameters about the use of the drug, and people are only allowed to take the drug under the supervision of facilitators who have undergone a 300-hour course. In a recent episode of our Bend Don't Break podcast, two Central Oregonians who are among the first lic...

Matthew Davey, park manager for Smith Rock State Park, joined the Source Weekly for a chat about the recently released draft master plan for Smith Rock. Davey is currently serving as the park manager at Smith Rock State Park. He originally came to the park as a lead ranger in 2012 and took the manager reins in 2019 after a 3 year stint as ranger supervisor at Silver Falls State Park and The Cove P...

Jason McNeal Graham, also known as MOsley WOtta, joins Editor Nicole Vulcan on the Bend Don't Break podcast. Graham's professional career spans multiple decades in mediums including, writing, painting and music. His curriculum vitae highlights Creative Laureate for the City of Bend, Oregon Fields Fellow, Oregon Humanities Conversation project leader + Bridging Oregon facilitator, Art Ore...

Joel Wirtz is the Executive Director of the nonprofit public defender’s office in Bend: Deschutes Defenders. After serving in the Marines, he moved to Oregon and has been a public defender for nearly 20 years. He has successfully defended accusations from theft to murder. A strong advocate for veterans and those suffering from mentally illness, Joel has served as attorney for those going through M...

A native Texan, Cassi McQueen grew up working with at-risk youth in some of the most impoverished areas of North Texas. Inspired by the resiliency she witnessed in underserved communities, McQueen developed a deep passion for public service and a commitment to social change. McQueen’s career has included leadership positions at non-profit organizations across the country including Director of Outr...

Dr. Jane Guyn is a world-renowned sex and relationship coach who received a PhD in Human Sexuality. She works with couples and individuals locally and all over the world. Although her work focuses on issues related to intimacy and sex, she also works with people who have fears and/or abuse issues related to sex, as well as a variety of other issues that impair their authentic connection. Jane wrot...

Dana Whitelaw, Ph. D., joined the staff of the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon in 2008 and has served as its executive director since 2014. Raised in Oregon, she earned her doctorate from University of Colorado Boulder in biological anthropology, conducting research that took her to Madagascar, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia and China. During that time, Dana became inspired by the work museums d...

Jared Rasic has lived in Bend since 1999, when he moved here for college. Since then he’s worked at Westside Video, Boomtown, Hollywood Video, Cascades Theatrical Company, Tin Pan Theater and, on and off since 2010, The Source. Now he divides his time between The Source and helping program films for Tin Pan Theater and shorts for the BendFilm Festival. In this edition of Bend Don't Break, Ras...

Amanda Stuermer has been producing events, creative projects, and cultural travel experiences for over two decades. She is the Founder of World Muse and Muse Conference and London Editor for Origin Magazine. She has recently co-produced a series of documentary films and her writing has been featured in Origin, Mantra, and Outside Magazines. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Ellen Waterston has published four poetry and three literary nonfiction titles, including, most recently, "Walking the High Desert: Encounters with Rural America Along the Oregon Desert Trail." "Hotel Domilocos" is her most recent collection of poetry. She serves on the faculty of OSU-Cascades Low Residency MFA in Creative Writing, and is founder of the Writing Ranch, which con...

Since moving to Bend in 1995, John Hummel has worked as a public defender, started a defense firm and served six years on the Bend City Council before being elected as District Attorney in 2014. The self-described progressive prosecutor took a different approach than many DAs, taking public stances on injustice and what he views as flaws in the legal system. Hummel declined to seek a third term, a...

Bend will have a new mayor at the start of 2023, with the election of Melanie Kebler to the position. Kebler, elected in 2022, first served for two years as a Bend City Councilor. She is an attorney with a background as a prosecutor and victims’ rights advocate. A Bend High grad, she grew up on the east side of Bend and has always been interested in civic leadership, starting with being elected to...

Clifford B Evelyn was born and raised in Harlem, New York by his Caribbean parents. Clifford attended New York University where he studied Business Administration. He later attended Los Angeles Trade Tech where he studied Business Management. Clifford enlisted in the US Navy in 1977 and received an Honorable Discharge as a Petty Officer 2nd Class in 1985. In 1989, Clifford was hired by the Clark C...

Shannon Monihan is the New Executive director of the Downtown Bend Business Association that makes up approximately 400 businesses downtown. With a 25+ year history in business development, branding and marketing she is focused on applying some of her learned knowledge and wealth of experience to the Downtown Bend district. Prior to her forming her own company she spent 15 + years working with sta...

We got to speak with Marcus LeGrand and Anthony Broadman, founders of "The State of Bend" podcast, about being a platform through podcasting and being involved in the city of Bend. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Riccardo Waites is a local leader dedicated to unifying and empowering the black/BIPOC community of Central Oregon. He is the founder and executive director of the Central Oregon Black Leaders Assembly (C.O.B.L.A.), founder of We Black Radio (WBR), Navy submarine veteran, father of nine, and Central Oregon resident of 22 years. Waites was compelled to organize his efforts in the wake of the murder...

Eric Lint has worked in politics across the Northwest, approaching it from a variety of perspectives. From newsroom to lobbyist, congressional office to campaign trail, Lint now informally consults for civic groups and candidates across Central Oregon with a focus on data and outreach. He maintains the local politics blog Bend Votes at bendvotes.com. In this podcast, Lint talks about the landscape...

Nicola Carpinelli is the founder of Hearts Unknown Education, a spinoff of the nonprofit, "Dead Poets Foundation." In this podcast, Carpinelli talks about the genesis of Dead Poets from an art exhibit on suicide awareness to a full nonprofit, and details the art therapy work he's now doing with kids in Bend. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

Andrea Breault is the Transportation Director for Cascades East Transit. She has 18 years of 18 years of transit, parking and fleet management experience mainly from campus operations, having worked at two universities prior to working at CET. She’s also an avid bike commuter for 18 years. In this podcast we chat about Central Oregon's transit system, plans for expansion and how the staffing...