Spotlighting local women whose work changes lives

By Racquel Stephen,

Published March 27, 2026 at 4:23 PM EDT

Four people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a young woman in front has her brown hair pulled back and is wearing a brown striped sweater and grey pants; a young woman back left has long dark hair and is wearing a yellow shirt; a woman back center wears a grey headscarf and grey shirt with a green scarf around her neck; a woman back right has very short blonde hair and is wearing glasses, a bright blue turtleneck dress and over the knee brown boots.

1 of 8 — (foreground) Kaylee Ziegler, (background) Julia Cosner and Hani Ali with guest host Racquel Stephen on "Connections"

(foreground) Kaylee Ziegler, (background) Julia Cosner and Hani Ali with guest host Racquel Stephen on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Friday, March 27, 2026

Mary Hussong-Kallen / WXXI News

Three women wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a woman at left has dark hair and is wearing glasses, a grey cardigan sweater and a white t-shirt; a woman at center has long dark hair and is wearing a grey cardigan sweater over a black shirt; a woman at right has very short dark hair and is wearing glasses and a bright blue turtleneck dress.

2 of 8 — LaShonda Robinson and Brittany Rumph with guest host Racquel Stephen on "Connections"

LaShonda Robinson and Brittany Rumph with guest host Racquel Stephen on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Friday, March 27, 2026

Mary Hussong-Kallen / WXXI News

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The Team at Mental Health Education and Legal Code for Refugees, Inc. stand with state Sen. Jeremy Cooney while doing outreach work.

Hani Ali

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Hani Ali stands amid a group of children whom are a part of her mentorship program.

Hani Ali

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Brittany Rumph, co-founder and head of school academics at Innova Girls Academy, assists a student with class work.

Racquel Stephen / WXXI News

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Innova Girls Academy opened in 2023 and has 215 young girls, K-4th grade, enrolled.

Racquel Stephen / WXXI

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Innova Girls Academy has 215 young girls enrolled in a STEAM Education curriculum.

R. Stephen / WXXI

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A classroom at Innova Girls Academy. The all girls charter school places an emphasis on STEAM learning.

Racquel Stephen / WXXI

A smiling woman with short blonde hair sits at a desk in front of a microphone wearing a gold necklace and green and white patterned dress. — Racquel Stephen guest hosting "Connections with Evan Dawson"

WXXI is celebrating Women’s History Month, and this hour, guest host Racquel Stephen highlights two Rochester women whose work may have gone unnoticed, but who are making a historical impact in the community.

Hani Ali is the founder of Mental Health Education & Legal Code for Refugee Rights, Inc. (MELCORR). The nonprofit organization offers mental health counseling and various resources to more than 200 local refugee families.

Brittany Rumph is the co-founder of Innova Girls Academy, Monroe County’s first all-girls elementary charter school. They join us in the studio to discuss their remarkable work.

Our guests:

Hani Ali, founder of Mental Health Education and Legal Code for Refugee Rights, Inc. (MELCORR)
Julie Cosner, volunteer in programming at MELCORR
Kaylee Ziegler, office administrator at MELCORR
Brittany M. Rumph, co-founder and head of school academics at Innova Girls Academy
LaShonda Robinson, lower school director of curriculum and instruction at Innova Girls Academy