SriPonya's "One Breath" Podcast

Episode -38 With Ruby Pacheco - From Survival to Sacred Work: Youth, Recovery, and Breaking Cycles In this deeply moving episode, we sit down with Ruby Pacheco , Director of Youth Peer Support and Youth In Progress at SriPonya Collective . Ruby shares her powerful story of recovery and resilience, offering an honest look at the lived experience that now shapes her work with young people. Raised in...

Compassion isn’t just a "soft-skill to meeting people right where they are—it’s the foundation that makes real change possible. In this episode, we’re joined by Maya Jaquez, a community health worker in Central Oregon with THRIVE Central OR, whose work beautifully illustrates the power of combining skilled communication with genuine human connection. Maya shares how compassion shows up in her...

“Jesus didn’t just talk about peace—he organized a movement of nonviolence.” (Fr John Dear) In this episode, we welcome Father John Dear , renowned peace activist, author, and longtime advocate of Gospel nonviolence. Together we explore what Jesus actually taught about peace, compassion, and resistance—and how those teachings have been transformed over time. Fr. John connects the radical nonviolen...

In this episode of the One Breath Podcast , host Greg Mead sits down with Antonio Becerra , SriPonya Collective’s Director of Men’s Recovery and the visionary lead behind our new re-entry initiative, Brothers in Progress . DONATE (Venmo) DONATE (Paypal) Antonio brings deep lived experience to this work. Having spent years entangled in gang life, drug trafficking, and ultimately serving a term in f...

Kateri D. Coyhis Kateri Coyhis, Mohican Nation, is the Executive Director of White Bison in Colorado Springs, CO. White Bison, Inc., is an American Indian non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation dedicated to creating and sustaining a grassroots Wellbriety Movement that provides culturally based healing to the next seven generations of Indigenous People. Kateri serves the Wellbriety Movement by providing...

"If Someone Is Hungry...Feed Them" Joshua De La Rosa (This is True Compassion) Joshua De La Rosa was born to parents who migrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic. Raised in one of Boston's toughest neighborhoods, Joshua's life took a turn at the age of 16 when he embraced Christianity. Despite dropping out of high school, he obtained his G.E.D. at 18 and joined t...

For many, knowing our "yes" and our "no" seems an elusive thing that never seems to 'arrive'. It doesn't have to be that way....My friend Breyn shares the journey to knowing her yes & her no and the gift she is in the world as a result of having developed the ability to 'hear' and live into the guidance she receives. Breyn IS an... Educator. Enchantment-...

This is a special conversation...Dr Marcel Tam shares his life with courage and vulnerability... Dr. Marcel Tam is a Family Physician who specializes in treating stress through body-based methods, including acupuncture. He was born and raised in occupied Duwamish territory. He is the oldest son of a father from Southern China and a mother from the Bavarian region of Germany. He is the older brothe...

GREG WILLIAMS Executive Producer Greg Williams is the award-winning filmmaker of feature-length documentaries, THE ANONYMOUS PEOPLE (2014 PRISM Award for Outstanding Documentary), GENERATION FOUND, and TIPPING THE PAIN SCALE. For each of these film projects, Greg has collaborated with the immensely talented Jeff Reilly. In 2015, he produced the historic UNITE TO FACE ADDICTION RALLY on the Nationa...

Walter Bailey, PSSII, CADCI, QMHA, CRM Walter Bailey was a football star at Benson High School and the University of Washington. He had dreams of a successful NFL career. After winning 2 Rose bowls and tie for a third, Walter found himself in free fall from the top of his Football career to a crash landing into addiction to drugs and alcohol thatnleft him with nothing. Walter entered De Paul’s res...

This week's guest Ron Waller, has become a good friend and a man, I listen to when he speaks... A Bit about Ron Ron Waller is a recently retired Silicon Valley engineer. He has spent over a decade in sobriety after realizing he could not find peace, serenity, and happiness by consuming substances. Through the 12 step program, and outside help, the benefits of honest assessments of behaviors, a...

"...In My Sobriety, I Have Never Felt More Powerful" Roberta Romero is a mental health advocate and Emmy award winning journalist at KING 5 (NBC) News. She spent the first 22 years of her career reporting on major news events in the Puget Sound Region, from the Nisqually Earthquake to the Boeing Dreamliner debut, but her specialty was telling and sharing the stories of everyday people. S...

Co-Founder (And My Wife) Jennifer Eales joins me for this very special episode of SriPonya's "One Breath" Podcast. In fact Jennifer begins by turning the mic in my direction and occupies the seat of "host" for much of our conversation. What begins as the story of personal recovery becomes a deep dive into our collective cultural dilemma and the need to "recover" f...

Frank Smith is an elder with the tribes of Warm Springs.  He carries a fire for the healing and recovery of the members of his community, The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, who suffer from addiction He is a peer mentor in prevention for the tribes of Warm Springs and often teaches culturally specific programs on the reservation.  Frank was an incredible athlete and was a boxer for the tribes...

Will hails from Northern California. After graduating from National Broadcasting School in 1988 he set out on journey to find his place on the radio waves. Eventually he found his way to KWSO in 1999 as popular 'voice' in Central Oregon until 2015. After a short break away from radio Wilman returned to the airwaves with KWSO in the spring of 2023.  As is the case for many, Will's life...

"Racial Justice is the Presence of LOVE..." (Matt LaVine) Matt LaVine is an activist for racial, environmental, and social justice.  In addition to being on the ground and in the streets, he is a senior race equity consultant and facilitator at the Center for Equity & Inclusion in what is now known as Portland, Oregon (ancestral, unceded, occupied lands of peoples from the Confederat...

Bonita's story is one of powerful, sustainable transformation. It is the miraculous exchange of "beauty for ashes, love for hate and a warm blanket for a cold stone"... Bonita Shares: I’m a wasco woman from the warm springs reservation. I’m a mother to two sons, and have been in Recovery for 8 years and 3 months. My goal after getting sober was to inspire hope in others to recover. I...

"Alleviate The Pressure & Make It Yours..." (Rodger Eales) Rodger was born and raised in Point Loma, California. The youngest of four children by parents Rodney and Gayle Eales. Rodger graduated from the University Of San Francisco with a degree in US History. Eales furthered his degree with completing a teaching credential program through USF as a part of an Ameri-Corp social justic...

Refiloe Mofokeng (she/her) is a South African dreamer, explorer and student of life. She made the decision to walk the sober path after deeply feeling that alcohol did not align with the life that she desired for herself. A few months into her sobriety, she launched her podcast, Sunkissed and Sober, where she shares reflections on her recovery. With it, she hopes that people drawn to the podcast w...

James Edmund Greeley honors the wisdom of his elders who said to him, not long ago, "No more Father; No more Mother; That Makes YOU The Next Elder". James has been playing the flute for the past 20 years. "My first flute was gifted to my dad (Hamilton Greeley), and I pretty much took it upon myself," he explained. "Dad wasn't musically inclined; it would have been sitt...

"I've Learned The Antidote For Addiction Is Connection..." (Shawna) Shawna, started her path to recovery at the age of 24 after battling an addiction with heroin and methamphetamines. As is often the case, those of us who have struggled with addiction to a substance, also have been challenged in personal and intimate relationships. Shawna shares here journey to finding rich and fulfi...

This 2nd Installment of my conversation with Avery Grace will NOT disappoint. Avery and their partner Mati' are voices of a generation, maybe THE generation that is standing in the gap. Avery's statement in the waning seconds of the podcast says it with eloquence and power and wrap in their heart of love; " There isn't a part of our lives that's NOT this work". It is with...

This week, I had the privilege of sitting down with Avery Grace . The tagline on their website is: Daringly Tender. Vulnerably Raw. Cuttingly Honest. This couldn’t be more spot on.  Avery Grace (they/she) is a queer/trans self-taught poet-playwright. They have been an NGO worker in refugee camps, a an educator for ESL kids in LA, and taught traditional Chinese medicine to master students. They are...

"...A Revolutionary Act!" Indeed This episode may just inspire you to live your life as a "Revolutionary Act"; a revolution of love and contribution. As I mention in the Intro PLEASE take a minute to watch the trailer for "The Creative High" Then join Adriana Marchione, Diane Griffin and me as we explore the miracle and mystery of the creative process, and the healing...

John Charles, JC shares the story of his life and, because of his profound ability to transform his circumstances his story is powerful. JC grew up in East Palo Alto in the 90's, one of our countries most dangerous cities. He rose to athletic renown culminating with him arriving in Atlanta, GA as a quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. But as life sometimes does, John's career was short-liv...