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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

CITY Magazine's 2026 'Rochester Ten'

By Evan Dawson,
Megan Mack, Julie Williams
Published August 5, 2026 at 7:10 PM EDT
Four smiling people holding copies of CITY Magazine as they sit around a table in a radio talk studio: a woman front left has long wavy red hair and is wearing a green top, black pants, and white sandals; a man back left has short curly brown hair and is wearing a gold chair and a blue graphic t-shirt; a man back center has short dark hair and is wearing glasses, a gold chain, and a black graphic t-shirt; a man at right has very short dark hair and is wearing a black button-down shirt, tan linen pants, and grey and blue sneakers
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(foreground) Leah Stacy, (background) Jacob Walsh, and Rafael Rodriguez with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Wednesday, August 5, 2026
George Yeadon / WXXI News
A person with short brown hair wearing glasses, a necklace, and black tank top under an acid wash denim jacket, holding a guitar
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Leaphe Ferm
levvels / CITY Magazine
A woman with blonde hair wearing sunglasses, a grey and white striped tank top, and black pants. She is standing in front of a green space with buildings in the background.
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Jenna Manetta-Knauf
levvels / CITY Magazine
A man with brown hair wearing a graphic t-shirt under a white and black flannel shirt. He is standing in front of bookcases of CDs and LPs.
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Max Kelley
levvels / CITY Magazine
A woman with her grey hair pulled into a ponytail, wearing glasses, bracelets, a watch, and a white dress with black flowers. She is posing in a dance studio.
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Nydia Padilla-Rodriguez
levvels / CITY Magazine
WXXI News

"They always come back home."

That's how CITY Magazine editor-in-chief Leah Stacy describes CITY's 2026 "Rochester Ten" cohort. The annual list celebrates community members whose work and passions are creating positive change. As Stacy writes, some are Rochester natives, some are transplants, and some live in several places, but the Flower City is where "they want their work to be felt most."

We meet some of them this hour, and we welcome the team from CITY to discuss this month's issue.

In studio:

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