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Connections
A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.
Connections

Teen Empowerment on its new center and its role in the community

By Evan Dawson,
Megan Mack, Julie Williams
Published October 17, 2024 at 2:38 PM EDT
Five people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: the man on the left in the foreground has dark hair and a dark beard and is wearing a grey short sleeved t-shirt and glasses; the man on the right in the foreground is wearing a blue baseball cap, a black jacket with white leather sleeves and green patterned pants; the man on the left in the background has short blonde hair and is wearing a light blue sweater; the woman on the right in the background has dark hair and is wearing red sunglasses on her forehead and a black zip up sweatshirt; the man at the end of the table has short dark hair and is wearing a dark blue puffy vest over a light blue long sleeved button down shirt, jeans and sneakers.
Julie Williams
/
WXXI News
(foreground) James Kegler and Freemonta Strong, (background) Doug Ackley and Karmyn Cash on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Thursday, October 17, 2024

A local organization that empowers Rochester teens to create positive change in the community has a new headquarters.
Teen Empowerment (TE) youth and staff moved into their new space -- named the Barack and Michelle Obama Teen Empowerment Center -- this summer.

We discuss the new center and the latest with TE's work helping young people navigate nihilism, violence in the community, and more.

Our guests:

Connections
Evan Dawson
Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
See stories by Evan Dawson
Megan Mack
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.
See stories by Megan Mack
Julie Williams
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.
See stories by Julie Williams