Leadership Rochester and how to train the next generation of leaders

By Evan Dawson,

Published January 7, 2025 at 2:34 PM EST

Five smiling people wearing headphones sit around a table in a radio talk studio: A woman front left has braided red hair in a ponytail and is wearing a black headband, gold hoop earrings, a black and white dress, and a black blazer; a woman front center has braided black hair in a bun and is wearing glasses, a white collared shirt under an orange vest, tan pants, and brown boots; a woman back left has grey shoulder-length hair and is wearing glasses and a grey sweater; a woman back center has long braided black hair and is wearing gold earrings, a maroon top, and black blazer; a man at right has short dark hair and is wearing glasses, a blue button-down shirt and a purple floral tie. — (foreground) Natasha House, Ashley Cross, (background) Molly McGowan, and Camille Simmons on Connections with Evan Dawson" on Tuesday, January 7, 2025

A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. The words "Connections with Evan Dawson" appear below him. The words "On Air. YouTube. Podcast." appear on the left side of the image.

The Rochester City School Board has elected a new president. Commissioner Camille Simmons takes over the leadership position from Cynthia Elliott.

As it happens, we had already planned a conversation with Simmons about an upcoming leadership symposium. She talks about how she views her new position as board president, and she joins a panel to discuss how the symposium is designed to teach the next generation of Rochester leaders.

Our guests are all graduates of Leadership Rochester:

Camille Simmons, president of the Rochester City School Board and executive director of Leadership Rochester
Ashley Cross, Ed.D., executive director of HOPE585
Molly McGowan, co-director of executive education at RIT
Natasha House, assistant director for diversity initiatives for career services at RIT