Welcome to Just Breathe with Dr. Tracie L. Keesee — a leadership podcast built for first responders and public safety professionals who make high-stakes decisions under pressure, and carry the weight of those decisions long after the radio goes quiet.

We're asking a question many of us think about but rarely say out loud — are the kids all right? For those in law enforcement, public safety, and the military, the honest answer is often no. Not just new recruits, but tenured officers and the next generation of public safety professionals stepping into organizations shaped by constant readiness, high expectations, and cumulative stress.

In this episode, Dr. Tracie L. Keesee sits down with **Kevin MacDonald** — street cop, survivor, and co-author of *Man, You're Crazy* — for a raw, honest conversation about what the job does to people, what leaders can do differently, and why vulnerability may be the most powerful leadership tool we've been ignoring.

WHAT WE COVER:

- How leadership behavior, policy, training, and unspoken cultural norms shape officer well-being long before burnout, discipline, or attrition show up
- The generational curses in policing — and why today's officers are still paying for decisions made 30 and 40 years ago
- Why cops are trained to shut down emotions to function on the job — and what that costs them at home
- The difference between impressing people with your victories and actually connecting through vulnerability
- Why police suicide among retirees is at record rates — and the simple mantra that can save a life
- What forward-thinking leaders are doing differently to strengthen the mind the same way we strengthen the body
- The honest truth about why the kids aren't all right — and what it takes to change that

ABOUT KEVIN MacDONALD
Kevin MacDonald is a retired law enforcement officer, speaker, and co-author of Man, You're Crazy — a book that draws on his lived experience to challenge organizations to confront stigma, rethink what strength really means, and take responsibility for how the job shapes the people doing it. With 13 years of sobriety and a career defined by hard-won vulnerability, Kevin travels the country as a conversation starter for law enforcement organizations ready to do things differently.

ABOUT THE JUST BREATHE PODCAST
Just Breathe with Dr. Tracie L. Keesee is a leadership platform for first responders and public safety professionals. Each episode explores how leadership, judgment, accountability, and wellness are shaped by the internal state of the leader making the decision — on the street, in the command staff meeting, and at home. New episodes drop every other week.

Control the breath. Control the moment

Welcome to Just Breathe with Dr. Tracie L. Keesee — a leadership podcast built for first responders and public safety professionals who make high-stakes decisions under pressure, and carry the weight of those decisions long after the radio goes quiet.

We're starting where it all begins — with the nervous system. When stress is chronic and recovery never comes, something shifts. Judgment narrows. Emotional regulation erodes. And the leaders we need most begin to disappear — into their offices, into their rank, or into patterns they inherited from generations before them.

For this episode, Dr. Tracie L. Keesee sits down with clinical psychologist Dr. Ellen Kirschman — who has spent over four decades working directly with first responders across every career stage — and Chief Jack Cawley of Castle Rock, Colorado — a veteran police chief who has navigated the realities of command under pressure while building a department culture rooted in emotional intelligence and people-centered leadership.

WHAT WE COVER

Why command presence is a nervous system skill — not a rank or a title
What chronic stress without recovery actually does to a leader's decision-making and emotional regulation
How dysregulation shows up operationally — in discipline, culture, and the people you're supposed to be leading
Why capable leaders lose the ability to self-regulate — and what happens when they can't
How to hold people accountable with compassion instead of fear, threat, or rank
The generational leadership cycle in policing — and what it takes to break it
Why the academy and field training programs are where culture and self-image are first formed
The honest truth about why self-regulation still isn't treated with the same urgency as firearms and defensive tactics

ABOUT DR. ELLEN KIRSCHMAN
Dr. Ellen Kirschman is a clinical psychologist who has spent over four decades working directly with first responders, helping them understand how cumulative stress, trauma, and survival wiring shape decision-making, identity, and career longevity. She is the author of I Love a Cop and Counseling Cops: What Clinicians Need to Know — foundational works that have helped normalize conversations about stress, family impact, and the sustainability of a career in public safety.

ABOUT CHIEF JACK CAWLEY
Chief Jack Cawley is a veteran police chief serving Castle Rock, Colorado. A leader who has navigated the realities of command under sustained pressure, Chief Cawley has built his department's culture around emotional intelligence, people-centered accountability, and intentional leadership development. In 2018, he was presented with the Igniter of the Year Award by New York Times bestselling author and leadership thinker Simon Sinek.

ABOUT THE JUST BREATHE PODCAST
Just Breathe with Dr. Tracie L. Keesee is a leadership platform for first responders and public safety professionals. Each episode explores how leadership, judgment, accountability, and wellness are shaped by the internal state of the leader making the decision — on the street, in the command staff meeting, and at home.
New episodes drop every other week.
Notice the state you're leading from

Welcome to the very first episode of Just Breathe with Dr. L Kesse — a leadership podcast built for first responders and public safety professionals who make high-stakes decisions under pressure, and carry the weight of those decisions long after the call ends.

We're starting where it all begins — with the body.
When stress hits, your body moves first. Heart rate spikes. Breath shortens. Vision narrows. And by the time conscious thought catches up — the moment has already passed.

For our debut episode, Dr. Tracie L. Keesee sits down with psychologist and stress physiology expert Dr. Laurence Miller to unpack what's actually happening inside a first responder's body during high-stakes decisions — and what leaders, supervisors, and officers can do about it.

WHAT WE COVER
Why breath is a tactical tool — not meditation
The science behind why officers mis-perceive what they see and hear under stress
How to run after-action reviews that account for stress physiology
What good leadership actually looks like when pressure is coming from every direction
Why de-escalation is a performance skill — not a substitute for force
The honest truth about resiliency and what newer officers are pushing back on

ABOUT DR. LAURENCE MILLER
Dr. LAURENCE Miller is a psychologist who has spent decades working with law enforcement, first responders, and military personnel operating in high-pressure environments. He specializes in stress physiology, performance under pressure, and psychological resilience in real-world operations — bridging science and the street for agencies nationwide.

ABOUT The Just Breathe Podcast
Just Breathe with Dr. L Kesse is a leadership podcast for first responders and public safety professionals. Hosted by Dr. Tracie L. Keesee, each episode explores how leadership, judgment, accountability, and wellness are shaped by the internal state of the leader making the decision.

New episodes drop every other Week.
Control the breath. Control the moment.

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