The Debcast

As a teen, Kristin Nitz was not only aware of Title IX, she lived it. The law passed during the time she was playing basketball for her school. Kristin was fortunate to have a male coach who embraced the spirit of the law by demanding that his team benefitted from the new-found athletic equanimity they deserved. This experience served as a inspiration for her prolific writing career. Among many other topics, Kristin writes about the triumphs and challenges of the female athlete. 

Anjuli Turner is a driven, focused, and intuitive high school junior with an eye on the prize - playing soccer on the collegiate level. She’s been preparing for this honor since kindergarten and won’t quit until her dream has been achieved. While her athletic aspirations are definitely impressive, her concern for the well-being of the less fortunate is exemplary. When she and her sister learned about the travesty of human trafficking, they felt compelled to do something about it. As result, the established iEMPOWER, a non-profit organization dedicated raise awareness of the problem and empower survivors of human trafficking.

Anjuli Turner is a driven, focused, and intuitive high school junior with an eye on the prize - playing soccer on the collegiate level. She’s been preparing for this honor since kindergarten and won’t quit until her dream has been achieved. While her athletic aspirations are definitely impressive, her concern for the well-being of the less fortunate is exemplary. When she and her sister learned about the travesty of human trafficking, they felt compelled to do something about it. As result, the established iEMPOWER, a non-profit organization dedicated raise awareness of the problem and empower survivors of human trafficking.

Aubrey Buffa is a dynamic pre-teen who has found her passion for life through karate. Because of her participation in the sport, Aubrey has discovered her ability to concentrate, grown to understand the true meaning of friendship, and has become a member of an athletic community she considers to be her family. Also In this episode, Aubrey’s mother talks about the lasting impact the sport has had on her daughter, for which she is exceedingly grateful.

Taylor Gonzales, former softball and basketball player, discusses the life-altering effects participating in sports had on her life. She talks about how a person's character is revealed in competition and how those experiences contribute to the development of leadership and integrity in life. 

Janine Kuestner's impact soars beyond winning Highland Game championships. Among other things, she's a mom who is an elite athlete, a coach, and an avid Title IX activist. 

Julie Rubini is a phenomenal author, athlete, and co-founder of Claire’s Day, a book festival commemorating the memory of her daughter. In this episode, Julie candidly discusses love, loss, and the tenacity required to live a full and productive life.

Led by a selfless, life-time devotion to her faith, Tiffany Fitzpatrick’s introduction to the running world was inspired by her desire to help eradicate the horrors of human trafficking. Unassuming, yet quietly confident,  Tiffany epitomizes the notion that living a passionate life of service to others establishes a legacy of love, one that is transformational.

Nineteen-year-old college student Lorry Mackay discusses how her life-long participation in athletics has shaped the individual she is today. Lorry attributes the confidence and leadership skills she possesses to the lessons she’s learned on and off the field, to the undying support of her parents, and to the gratitude she feels for the women and men who fought for Title IX. 

Nineteen-year-old college student Lorry Mackay discusses how her life-long participation in athletics has shaped the individual she is today. Lorry attributes the confidence and leadership skills she possesses to the lessons she’s learned on and off the field, to the undying support of her parents, and to the gratitude she feels for the women and men who fought for Title IX. 

In this episode, Deb has the great privilege to interview the amazing and inspirational Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered registrant in 1967, during which she was accosted by a race official for merely being female.  In this episode, Kathrine talks about her life as a child and how her experiences prepared her for the race of a lifetime.

In this episode, Deb has the great privilege to interview the amazing and inspirational Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon as a numbered registrant in 1967, during which she was accosted by a race official for merely being female.  In this episode, Kathrine talks about her life as a child and how her experiences prepared her for the race of a lifetime.

In this episode, Deb Gonzales uses the author’s note from her debut non-fiction picture book GIRLS WITH GUTS: THE ROAD TO BREAKING BARRIERS AND BASHING RECORDS as the basis to analyze the foreboding competition demonstrated in the NCAA championship game between Baylor and Notre Dame.  Deb explores the performance of two key players and their coaches, proving that they depict the ultimate expression of what it means to play like a girl! Access www.debbiegonzales.com for a freebie, view videos, and to check out her book launch schedule.

In this episode, Deb Gonzales uses the author’s note from her debut non-fiction picture book GIRLS WITH GUTS: THE ROAD TO BREAKING BARRIERS AND BASHING RECORDS as the basis to analyze the foreboding competition demonstrated in the NCAA championship game between Baylor and Notre Dame.  Deb explores the performance of two key players and their coaches, proving that they depict the ultimate expression of what it means to play like a girl! Access www.debbiegonzales.com for a freebie, view videos, and to check out her book launch schedule.

In this episode, self-proclaimed ‘rule-breaker’, mental health advocate, and entrepreneur Ashley Wiles discusses how her challenging relationship with her mother served to inspire her life’s work - mentoring young girls with the values and skills needed to achieve any goal they desire. As founder of Sole Girls, Ashley encourages her young athletes to improve their outlook on life by becoming physically active and engaging in the 3 C’s of her program - confidence, community and concentration. Ashley Wiles, founder and Head Coach of Sole Girls, Youth Speaker, Life Coach, 3x Iron(wo)man, Ironman 70.3 World Championship competitor and Mental Health Advocate.  Growing up in a family of runners, Ashley started running at 5 years old, and now runs and competes in triathlons around the world.

Author and musher Terry Lynn Johnson, most likely one of the bravest women Deb has ever met, talk about the dangers she’s confronted and in the freezing wilderness of Ontario, Canada and how those experiences have become fodder for Terry’s amazing, adventure-packed books for kids. About Terry Lynn Johnson: Terry Lynn Johnson writes middle grade adventures based on her experiences living in northern Ontario, Canada. She might have fallen through ice a time or two, been dragged by a dog team, blown up a wood stove, been attacked by a sloth (slowly), nearly drowned on a portage, and chased a bear with a chainsaw. She owned eighteen sled dogs, but now owns one border collie who is almost smart enough to type out her own adventures.

Debbie Clarke Moderow describes the her intimate connection with her dogs as friends and teammates. She explores the complexities she experienced of being a devoted mother and the pull of independence required to become an elite athlete. Debbie hails from a fascinating lineage of strong, athletic women who were willing to challenge societal norms in different ways, a calling that has been passed on to her daughter, Hannah. In this episode, Deb encourages young athletic girls to ask questions, demand answers, and to give it your all in anything you choose to do.   Debbie Clarke Moderow is the author of Fast Into the Night: A Woman, Her Dogs, and their Journey North on the Iditarod Trail. The memoir recounts her experience running Alaska’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and explores her deepening and inextricable bond with her team of Alaskan huskies. The memoir, her first book, was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in February 2016 and will be released by Boreal Books of Red Hen Press in June 2018. Debbie earned a BA from Princeton University in 1977 and an MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific Lutheran University’s Rainier Writing Workshop in 2013. She and her husband Mark live in Denali Park and Anchorage Alaska.

Sue Macy is passionately steeped in the history of the female athlete. Writing their stories has been her life’s work. She’s met the most accomplished females competitors of all time, face-to-face. Donna De Varona, Althea Gibson, and those incredible women of the All American Girls Baseball League to name just a few. She has been privileged to do so because she honors their legacies with her words, and her heart.  In this episode, Sue talks about being athletic as girl and yet stymied by the limitations of growing up in a pre-Title IX era. Sue Macy is a published author and an editor of children's books and young adult books. Some of the published credits of Sue Macy include Swifter, Higher, Stronger: A Photographic History of the Summer Olympics, Bull's-Eye: A Photobiography of Annie Oakley (Photobiographies), Freeze Frame: A Photographic History of the Winter Olympics.

In this episode, writer and podcaster Katie Mather describes the special bond players have with their teammates and coaches. Katie also, quite candidly, discusses a terrifying experience in which her fierce sense of athleticism could have, quite possibly, saved her life. Katie Mather is a former teacher, a devoted mother, a writer, a civic leader, and the host of podcast Out Of Curiosity. She not only lives in Vermont an earned her MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Anne Torrez is a mom, an athlete, an entrepreneur, a coach and founder of Tri It Your Way, a triathlon training service. Anne discovered her brilliance and value as a human being through competing in the triathlon. In this episode, Anne discusses the transformation she’s undergone from being a very shy girl to becoming a focused, determined athlete and how her evolution fuels her compassion to help others do the same. About Anne Torrez: Speaker, coach, and athlete Anne Torrez Is the founder of Tri It Your Way, an online and in-person coaching program for triathletes who want to improve their performance and efficiency. She dabbled in various sports and activities when she was younger, my true road to fitness and racing began when she was in grad school. Anne felt unhealthy and unsatisfied with her energy and happiness levels. Anne began with picking up recreational running and trail biking, and learning more about how to eat more healthfully. On a whim, she signed up for a triathlon to challenge and motivate herself. Anne didn't know much about structured training, and didn't know how to swim, but after training for and racing her first triathlon she was hooked! Before discovering this sport, and had never found something that excited her so much or gave her such drive and motivation to excel.