Dad to Dad Podcast

Our guest this week is Jason Tuttle of Atlanta, GA, a former physical education and special education teacher, a stay at home parent and father to two children with multiple physical and cognitive disabilities. Jason and his wife, Jennifer, have been married for 21 years and are the proud parents of two children: Samantha (16) who is non-verbal, epileptic, wheelchair bound and has severe neuro dev...

Our guest this week is Michael McManus of Barrington, IL, Vice President of Captive Resources, co-proprietor of Jigsaw Farms and father of two adult sons, including one with Autism .   Michael and his wife Stacie have been married for 33 years and are the proud parents of two boys:  Matt (30) and Jake (29) who is Autistic.   Jake has benefited from a host of programs, including:  Cure Autism Now (...

Our guest this week is Scott MacGregor of Fishers, IN who is Executive Director of Content and Storytelling at Eli Lilly and Company and father of three including one with Down Syndrome. Scott and his wife, Sara, have been married for 23 years and are the proud parents of three living children: Ainsley (16), Jack (18) and Abby (21) who has Down Syndrome.  Very sadly, their son Owen who had Trisomy...

Our guest this week is Jessica Ronne of Holland, MI, author, speaker, podcast host, founder & executive director of the Lucas Project and perhaps most importantly, wife and the mother of eight, including one with special needs. Jess and her second husband, Ryan, have been married for 14 years and between them are the proud parents of eight children: four from her first marriage: Caleb, Lucas,...

Episode #359 – A Look Back on 2024   Hi I’m David Hirsch, founder of the 21st Century Dads Foundation and Special Fathers Network as well as host of the Special Fathers Network Dad To Dad Podcast.    Happy New Year and welcome to the first episode of 2025.    Tom Couch, the editor and producer of the SFN Dad To Dad Podcast, and I, thought we would do something special and provide a Look Back on 20...

Our guest this week is Emma Livingstone of London, England who is the mother of three typical kids, a self-advocate with Cerebral Palsy and founder & CEO of UP - The Adult Cerebral Palsy Movement.  Emma and her husband, Derrick, have been married for 17 years and are the proud parents of three typical children ages 11-16.  She is the one who has cerebral palsy, which has propelled her to becom...

Our guest this week is Craig Parks of San Diego, CA who is a professional musician, band leader, camp director, author and father of two including one with special healthcare needs. Craig and his wife, Rachel, have been married for 23 years and are the proud parents of two children: Nashaman (10) and Jonah (20) who has multiple issues, including: anxiety, attention issues and Autism. Craig has a r...

Our guest this week is Tieal Bishop, of Walkerton, IN, mother to six including a medical fragile son and founder of A Rosie Place For Children. Tieal and her husband,Travis, have been married for eight years and between them they are the proud parents of six children: Max (25), Sam (22) and Gigi (20) and triplet 21 year old girls, Madeline, Abby and Kate.    Her oldest son, Max, had a precarious e...

Our guest this week is Phillip Koontz of Monument, CO a retired U.S. Navy Seal, combat veteran, a former pastor, co-founder of Buffalo Leadership Academy, owner of an e-commerce business, author and perhaps most importantly, the father to five children. Phillip and his third wife, Suzanna, have been married for 6 1/2 years and between them are the proud parents of five children. Phillip served for...

Our guest this week is Dennis Watkins of Oak Park, IL who is a professional magician and father of two adopted children, including a son who is Autistic.  Dennis and his husband, Sean Kelly, have been married for seven years and are the proud parents of two adopted children: Magnolia (15 months) and Henry (5), who is Autistic.   Dennis hails from Dallas and a long line of family magicians.  His gr...

Our guest this week is Tom Parro of Grayslake, IL, president of MERK Capital and father of three including a daughter with a rare disease.   Tom and his wife, Janice, have been married for 27 years and are the proud parents of three children: Erin (24), Matthew (20) and Megan (22) who has Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) a condition that causes a number of symptoms when you transit...

Our guest this week is Todd Evans of Brentwood, TN who is a business owner, author and father of two children with disability.   Todd and his wife, Kristin, have been married for 23 years and are the proud parents of two children: an 18 year old who was born with a metabolic disorder and 14 year old who has Cri du chat syndrome is a genetic disorder caused by a deletion of the short arm of chromos...

Our guests this week are father and daughter, Wayne Friedman of Louisville, KY and Reena Friedman Watts of Houston, TX.  Wayne and his wife, Maureen, have been married for 45 years and are the proud parents of three daughters: Reena, Jessica and Stephanie, who between them have 13 children, Wayne and Maureen’s grandchildren.  A unique factoid is that Jessica and Stephanie live and work in Israel. ...

Our guest this week is Dana Lange, of Denver, CO who does business development for Tuff Shed, is co-founder and CFO of Bright Life Connections, a non-profit and father of two including a daughter with a rare genetic disease. Dana and his wife, Dana, have been married for 34 years and are the proud parents of two daughters: Sarah (28) and Victoria (26) who has Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome, a rare genetic...

Our guest this week is Andrew Bustamante of Colorado Springs, CO a former covert CIA intelligence officer, U.S. Air Force combat veteran, business consultant, host of the Everyday Espionage Podcast, a self-proclaimed improvement junkie and perhaps most important of all, father of two adolescent children. Andrew and his wife, Jihi, who is also a former CIA intelligence officer, have been married fo...

Our guest this week is Mike Abramowitz of St. Augustine, FL, an entrepreneur, co-founder of Better Than Rich, speaker, author and transformational coach as well as father of two young children. Mike and his wife, Lindsay, have been married for seven years and are the proud parents of two children: daughter Ella (1) and son James (3), who was born at 26 weeks, weighing 1 pound four ounces, which ca...

Our guest this week is Tony Bombacino of Chesterton, IN, co-founder of Real Food Blends and father of two, including one with multiple disabilities.  Tony and his wife, Julie, have been married for 18 years and are the proud parents of two children: daughter Luca (15) and son AJ (13) who has multiple disabilities.  Tony and Julie founded Real Food Blends in response to seeking wholesome foods suit...

This is part of a special series of interviews within the SFN Dad To Dad Podcasts known as the  SFN Mastermind Group Monday Podcasts.   Each Monday host David Hirsch interviews one of the SFN Mastermind Group dads on the impact the mastermind group has had on him and the wellbeing of his family.   This Monday’s guest is  Ruslan Vasyutin  of Ukrainian who currently lives in Solihull, England and wh...

Our guest this week is Chris Hunter of Orlando, FL a father and grandfather, who has devoted much of his career to serving families with special needs, to help plan their financial future.   Chris and his wife, Jane, have been married for 40 years and are the proud parents of an adult daughter and four grandchildren.  Chris is from Canada.  He has a civil engineering degree from New Brunswick Univ...

This is part of a special series of interviews within the SFN Dad To Dad Podcasts known as the  SFN Mastermind Group Monday Podcasts.   Each Monday host David Hirsch interviews one of the SFN Mastermind Group dads on the impact the mastermind group has had on him and the wellbeing of his family.   This Monday’s guest is Todd Evans of Brentwood, TN owns multiple businesses, is an author and is the...

Our guest this week is Chris Mallette of Chicago, IL, father of four and director of community engagement and head football coach at Chicago Hope Academy. Chris also does violence prevention consulting. Chris and his wife, Kendall, have been married for 28 years and are the proud parents of four: Luke (26), Zion (24), Judah (19) and Levi (16).  Their family has been touched by mental health challe...

This is part of a special series of interviews within the SFN Dad To Dad Podcasts known as the  SFN Mastermind Group Monday Podcasts.   Each Monday host David Hirsch interviews one of the SFN Mastermind Group dads on the impact the mastermind group has had on him and the wellbeing of his family.   This Monday’s guest is  Agust Kristmanns of Reykjavík, Iceland a father of three, who works as an ele...

Our guest this week is Nate Plasman of Lombard, IL, a vice president at family owned Monroe Transportation and father of three, including a son with a rare genetic disease. Nate and his wife, Sara, have been married for 20 years and are the proud parents of three children: Grace (15), Jackson (12) and Andrew (10) who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive and severe muscle-wasting conditio...

This is part of a special series of interviews within the SFN Dad To Dad Podcasts known as the  SFN Mastermind Group Monday Podcasts.   Each Monday for the past few months, host David Hirsch has interviewed members of the SFN Mastermind Group community, men who meet virtually via Zoom on a weekly basis.  This Monday’s episode is a recap from the 4th Annual SFN Mastermind Group Weekend Retreat , he...

Our guest this week is Bill Walters of Collinswood, NJ, father of two and founder of Perfectly Imperfect Families. Bill is the proud father of two children: Jake (21) and Tammy (23), who between the two of them have had a variety of challenges including; hearing impairment, development delays, IBS, ADHD and endometriosis.  Bill has been a single father for much of his children's lives.   Professio...