No Barriers

A professional mountaineering guide, Luis has summited the top of the famed “Seven Summits” a cumulative 32 times, including being a six-time summiteer of Mt. Everest. He currently serves as the 1st State Director for the Outdoor Recreation Industry office for Colorado. Years ago, he spent a decade managing the leadership development school, Outward Bound Professional in Colorado. He also served as COO and Director of Operations for Adventure Consultants (AC), a highly respected New Zealand-based global expedition firm with a long and storied history of leading trips on Mt. Everest that was featured both in the book Into Thin Air and in the movie Everest. Luis has reported from Mt. Everest for ABC-TV News, and has filmed segments for National Geographic on Mt. Everest. Ultimately he believes, “If you really challenge yourself, you can truly change your world.”

The No Barriers Podcast team sat down with Bob “Diggs” Brown, to talk about his experience serving his country and the twists and turns in his life since then. Diggs is a US Army Veteran who served for 34 years, first as an enlistee and later as an officer in the Army Special Forces. Not only did Diggs fight in Afghanistan, but he voluntarily participated in rebuilding, supplying and teaching at a local village school. Additionally, he worked to procure supplies and assisted in rebuilding what would become one of the first girls’ schools in the region. In spite of his post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, Diggs has been the recipient of several awards in recognition of his service including “Community Hero” from the SAFECO Insurance Company, “Citizen of the Year” by the Fort Collins Board of Realtors and the “Veteran of the Year for the state of Colorado” by the Daughters of the American Revolution. He looks forward to utilizing his vast experience supporting veterans with social, political, economic and health related issues.

The No Barriers Podcast team sat down with Bob “Diggs” Brown, to talk about his experience serving his country and all the twists and turns in his life since then. Diggs is a US Army Veteran who served for 34 years, first as an enlistee and later as an officer in the Army Special Forces. Not only did Diggs fight in Afghanistan, but he voluntarily participated in rebuilding, supplying and teaching at a local village school. Additionally, he worked to procure supplies and assisted in rebuilding what would become one of the first girls’ schools in the region. In spite of his post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, Diggs has been the recipient of several awards in recognition of his service including “Community Hero” from the SAFECO Insurance Company, “Citizen of the Year” by the Fort Collins Board of Realtors and the “Veteran of the Year for the state of Colorado” by the Daughters of the American Revolution. He looks forward to utilizing his vast experience supporting veterans with social, political, economic and health related issues.

Our hosts sat down with Shannon Galpin in a rare moment when she was back in Colorado and not traveling the globe! Shannon is an author, artist, global women’s rights activist, film producer, and a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year. She spent a decade working on humanitarian projects in Afghanistan including creating the groundbreaking street-art project, Streets of Afghanistan. She is a producer on the feature documentary, Afghan Cycles and has published two books including her memoir, Mountain to Mountain. Shannon was awarded an honorary diploma by the International Olympic Committee for her work promoting women’s equality through sports, and is a Fellow of the Explorer’s Club. Above all else, Shannon is a mother, and she’s determined to raise her daughter to use her voice for those that don’t have one.

Our hosts sat down with Steve Rae, an accomplished leader in the Corporate world to discuss how to weave the themes of No Barriers into business leadership. Steve is a Senior Vice President of Customer Experience at Berlitz and the CEO of ConnectEdPlanet, a learning consultancy focused on the design, development, and management of innovative learning programs through the application of social, experiential, and gamification strategies that maximize learner engagement. He has been instrumental in bringing his expertise to the No Barriers Board team and building No Barriers Corporate Leadership programming. Prior to Berlitz, Steve built learning solutions at both Apollo Education group and was a senior executive at IBM. Listen in for key takeaways for leadership teams and how to face internal problems in the workplace with a No Barriers mindset.

Jeff, Erik, and Dave speak with Heidi McKenzie, a young woman from Kentucky who was pursuing her dreams of a fashion career until a car accident left her a T4 paraplegic at age 21. Our team met Heidi when she was selected for a Reach Award and attended the 2017 No Barriers Summit. She was chosen based on her many accomplishments that were not despite her disability but because of it and the difference she strives to make in her own community. An entrepreneur, Heidi started Alter UR Ego, a clothing line for people in wheelchairs that includes clothes that are as fashionable as they are adaptable. Heidi is also an outspoken advocate for accessibility, serving on various boards and working for community organizations. She was also crowned Ms. Wheelchair Kentucky in 2012! Listen to Heidi describe her journey and the positive attitude she employs to approach the barriers in her life.

Our hosts talk with Tom Dixon about his innovative app that he created as the result of an injury he sustained in his mid-twenties when he was hit by a car and suffered a traumatic brain injury. His TBI caused seizures and severe losses in his episodic memory, a type of amnesia meaning he does not recall the details of his day. Instead of retreating into a dark place, Tom used his new condition to be the catalyst to create the innovative mobile app ME.mory that helps him fill in the missing memories. It’s similar to an external hard drive which he feeds with all the details of his day and later he can put these pieces together. Instead of having his brain store all kinds of information, his app can do it for him. Listen to Tom talk about his journey and how he has not only adapted to his post-injury life, but has thrived and created an ingenious tool for himself and others.

Our team sat down with George Heinrichs, CEO of ANDE, a Rapid DNA Analysis product that produces a DNA ID in less than 2hours (they usually require months of analysis) and can be used outside of a lab by non-technical users. This is a public safety tool that has the potential to change the criminal justice system and combat terrorism. George discusses the barriers he's encountered in his storied career and the mindset and Vision he employs to push through them. George's story shows you don't need to be a CEO to employ the lessons he has learned.

Welcome to our No Barriers Podcast with hosts Erik Weihenmayer, Jeff Evans, and Dave Shurna. We discuss what to expect in upcoming episodes and to introduce you to our hosts in more details. Enjoy and subscribe!

Our hosts connect with Gretchen Evans, a former Command Sergeant Major in the US Army, bronze star recipient, No Barriers Warriors leader, and a newly minted author. Gretchen details her journey of serving her country, becoming deaf from a rocket blast, and the struggle to find purpose and meaning outside of the service and with a disability.

Meet the legend: Mark Wellman. Mark met with our hosts at our studio in Golden to discuss his storied climbing career, his many first ascents and other athletic achievements, as well as his devastating accident that left him a paraplegic. Hear the humble genesis of No Barriers, the nonprofit Mark and Erik co-founded and the namesake of this podcast.

Our guest, Billy Lister is a Paralympic cyclist, who most recently represented Team USA in the Rio Olympics, competing in both track and road events. 18 years ago, Billy was diagnosed with a rare and acute brain abnormality which resulted in a loss of mobility due to a stroke. Listen to hear about his experience with adversity and his No Barriers journey to becoming a world-class Paralympian.

Meet Ethan Johnston, a young man living in Colorado who has overcome great odds in his life to find independence and happiness. As a young boy, Ethan was kidnapped from his family in Ethiopia, blinded and used as a beggar. He was found and eventually adopted to a family in the U.S. and discusses the path that led him to finding his way out of so much darkness.