Welcome to the Pay Love Forward Podcast.
My name is Dr. Matthew Leavenworth, founder and director of Pay Love Forward. This series focuses on telling stories of our unsung heroes unfolding in the great state of Montana.
At Pay Love Forward, our mission is to build compassionate communities for the at-risk and underserved through mentorship. This podcast is one way we live out that mission.

In this episode — Part Two of “Loving from the Sidelines” — we turn from Mitch Bohn’s vision for inclusion to the life story that forged it. Mitch, advocate, storyteller, and founder of Access Billings, shares what it was like growing up with spina bifida, the mentors who shaped his confidence, and the people who carried him through more than thirty surgeries.

We also talk about his why — what kept him resilient through pain, adversity, and doubt — and how his love for people and purpose became the foundation for everything he’s built.
Our conversation also touched something deeply personal for me — our shared experience of spending long seasons in the hospital: Mitch through his surgeries, and me walking beside my son through leukemia. Together we reflected on the medical professionals who served us with tireless compassion, and how those moments of care became turning points in both our lives.

This is a conversation about perseverance, identity, and the quiet grace that comes from loving life — and others — despite hardship.
It’s my deepest honor to share Mitch’s story. The world needs better stories — and Loving from the Sidelines is one of them.