Deep Dive with Dr D

One day. That’s the gap between two college acceptance emails, and it’s also the kind of gap that can quietly change an entire life. Lauren Pratt joins us to talk about how she landed at Central Washington University, why Ellensburg became home, and what happened after she took a chance on an internship that started with a single, seriously professional email. We get into the real mechanics of a c...

A college town can look small from the outside, then quietly become the place that saves you. We sit down with Ash Perron, an “honorary local” Ellensburgian, campus leader, and musician in Tin Fish, to talk about the non-linear road that brought her from a chaotic childhood to meaningful work at Central Washington University, and back to performing the kind of music that feels like home.  We get r...

A beard might get someone’s attention, but it’s the choices behind it that tell the real story. Roger DiGangi grew up with instability, missing pieces of family, and the kind of childhood that teaches survival before it teaches joy. When he moved from San Diego to Ellensburg, Washington, the slower rhythm of Central Washington didn’t magically fix everything but it gave him the space to decide who...

Your “healthy habits” can turn into a cage without you noticing. Maren Peterson joins us to tell the full story: growing up in Ellensburg, getting rocked by her parents’ divorce, starting over in Arizona, and then chasing a big dream in Los Angeles fashion school. What looked like motivation on the outside slid into orthorexia, a dangerous pattern of over-exercising and under-eating that left her...

You can hear it in Kyra Pugh’s voice: she’s not here to shame anyone into “better habits.” She’s a registered dietitian, personal trainer, and health coach who has lived the hard parts of health from the inside and her story starts with a near-fatal Type 1 diabetes crisis at age 11. Rapid weight loss, unquenchable thirst, constant bathroom trips, and what looked like a stomach bug turned into diab...

Tacoma doesn’t just give you memories, it gives you a way of moving through the world. Mal Stewman and I start with our shared T-Town roots, then follow the thread that runs through his whole life: learning culture early, noticing who gets left out, and deciding to do something about it. Mal is the director of the Multicultural Center at Central Washington University, and his story is packed with...

You can grow up in chaos and still build a peaceful home, but it takes intention, support, and a willingness to tell the truth. Nevada joins me to talk about what it was like to be a kid in a hoarder house, to learn adult worries too early, and to rely on grandparents and extended family as a lifeline when stability at home was not guaranteed. Nevada also shares the life she’s built today: marriag...

Your job title can make you look solid while your inner life quietly falls apart. That’s why this conversation with Johnny Graf hits so hard. Johnny is a long-time Ellensburg educator and former principal who chose to leave public education on purpose, reclaim his childhood name, and step into healing work that centers on presence, grief support, and honest human connection.  We talk about what ha...

A salon chair can be the most honest place in town. I am joined by Alisha Gordon, a longtime Ellensburg hairstylist and salon owner, to unpack what really happens when people sit down for “just a haircut” and end up sharing their whole lives. We talk about growing up with constant moves, how coming back to a small town helped her get steady, and why deep roots and familiar faces can change your tr...

People don’t lose trust all at once. It leaks out through small moments: a rumor that spreads faster than a correction, a process nobody can explain in plain English, a decision that feels distant from real life. That’s why this conversation with Brian Elliott hits so hard. Brian is a Kittitas County Auditor, an Army officer, a husband and dad, and a local leader who has to live with the consequen...

A camera doesn’t just record what we look like. It records what we valued, who we were with, and the tiny details we forget until a photo brings them back. I’m joined by Meaghan Bickel, owner of Joy Photography in Ellensburg, to talk about what she’s learned from photographing weddings, family sessions, business headshots, and some of the most tender moments a family can face. We get into the thin...

Shame is a blunt instrument, and we keep swinging it like it’s going to solve addiction, mental health crises, and crime. This conversation with Joelle Dickerson flips that logic on its head and gets practical about what actually helps people change when they’re court-involved, struggling with substance use, or carrying years of untreated trauma. We talk about how one traumatic event can redirect...

A pumpkin patch looks like pure fun until you see the spreadsheets, the permits, and the sleepless nights behind it. We’re joined by Hilary Jensen of Jensen Farms to pull back the curtain on agritourism, the fast-growing corner of farming that blends agriculture, hospitality, and public safety into one high-stakes seasonal business. We talk about the biggest misconceptions people have about agrito...

Growth 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 pr...

Spiritual 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 t...

You 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 u...

A 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 wh...

You 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 es...

He 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...

She 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 dependenc...

Your 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: he...

What 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...

What 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 brochure promised safety. What Mandy’s family found after Cooper’s overdose was a six‑bedroom house at the end of a cul‑de‑sac—advertised as inpatient treatment, billing thousands per day, and operating with shocking gaps in oversight. We invited Mandy to tell the whole story: the love and laughter of a blended family, the day the phone rang with news no parent should hear, and the quiet, stubbo...

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