Breaking the Bubble
A Community Conversation Series
Breaking the Bubble is a community conversation series co-sponsored by the University's Office for Residential Life and Housing Services and the Center for Community Engagement. Breaking the Bubble seeks to burst the bubble that can envelop the University, separating it from the surrounding community. The series highlights timely issues of interest to both the University's community and the general Rochester community—particularly Rochester's southwest neighborhoods, adjacent to the University's River Campus. These events are free and open to the public.
Upcoming Events
#FundTheYouth: Increasing Grant Accessibility for Youth-Led Mental Health Initiatives
Aliza Lopez, Sophmore,majoring in Health, Behavior and Society and Statistics with a Minor in Legal Studies
Past Events
2024-2025 Series
Finding Common Ground in Polarizing Times
Erin Thompson, Executive Director of the MK Gandhi Institute
2023-2024 Series
Cycling as Transportation in Rochester
Jesse Peers, Cycling Manager, Reconnect Rochester
Tracey Austin, Alternative Transportation Coordinator, University of Rochester
Building Community Through Rochester's Westside Farmer's Market
Jackie Farrell, Manager (retired), Westside Farmers Market
Jessica DiSalvo, Manager (active)Westside Farmers Market
Indigenous Conversations
Ronalyn (Ronnie) Pollack, Executive Director of the Native American Cultural Center
School Data Matters
Dr. Shanai Lee, Founder and Executive Director of READY
2022-2023 Series
A Recipe for Food Security
Panelist Leslie Knox, Director, Taproot
Panelist Asimi Coleman, WFM, Taproot
Panelist Laura Ballou, UR Food Pantry
What Makes Rochester the Most Neighborly City? How can I Become Engaged
Dana Miller, Deputy Commissioner of Neigborhood and Business Development, City of Rochester
Charles Reaves, Administrator Southwest Neighborhood Service Center, City of Rochester
Bridging Neighborhood through Creative Community Engagement
Suzanne Maier, Founder, Sirius Change LLC
Shawn Dunwoody, Creative Public Engagement Director
2021-2022 Series
Building Community Control: How City Roots Community Land Trust is Combating Gentrification with Community Owned Land
Graham Hughes, City Roots Community Land Trust
Fostering Accessible Play Through Community Engagement
Calvin Eaton, 540WMain, Inc.
Suzan Hoffman ’22 (E5)
CampusROC & Helping Students Fall in Love with Greater Rochester
Click here for the CampusROC presentation
Barb Egenhofer, Director of Talent Strategy, ROC2025
Julia Pagano, Talent Strategy Coordinator, CampusROC
In the Spirit of Mandela: Advancing Human Rights in the United States (video available)
2020-2021 Series
From Words to Action with Lentory Johnson
Lentory Johnson, local activist
Breaking the Bubble: Pursuing Black Liberation in Rochester (video available)
Ashley Gantt, Free the People Roc
Becoming Better Neighbors: What Works, What Can Be Improved (video available)
Zola Brown, President of the 19th Ward Community Association
Dorian Hall, President of the PLEX Neighborhood Association
Moniek Silas-Lee, Principal at Dr. Charles T. Lunsford School No. 19
Promoting Voting Rights: From the 19th Amendment to the 2020 Election (video available)
Jean Pedersen, Associate Professor of History and of Humanities, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester
Annie Rosenow ‘22, Chair, Voter Outreach Subcommittee, Committee for Political Engagement, Rochester Center for Community Leadership
Barbara Grosh, Director of Voter Services, League of Women Voters of the Rochester Metropolitan Area
2019-2020 Series
From Space to Place: Reimagining Our Region Through Placemaking (video available)
Maria Furgiuele, Executive Director, the Community Design Center Rochester
Bridging Silos: Collaborating for Environmental Health and Justice in Urban Communities
Katrina Korfmacher, PhD, associate professor of environmental medicine, University of Rochester
Introduction to Addressing Structural Racism and Building Community
Loriane Ngarambe, RMAPI community engagement specialist
Community Engagement through the Lens of Barbershops and Salons
Wille Lightfoot, Rochester City Council vice president and owner, New Creations Unisex Shop
Wade Davis, owner, Wade & Me Barbershop
Andre Morrison, owner, Andre's Barbershop
Dr. Desjamebra Robinson, NYS cosmetologist
Working Towards Climate Justice in Rochester
Abby McHugh-Grifa, executive director of Rochester People's Climate Coalition
Calvin Eaton, Founding executive director of 540 WMain Inc.
Hridesh Singh, leadership member of Rochester Youth Climate Leaders
2018-2019 Series
Yoga 4 a Good Hood
Imani Olear, founder, and pastor, Reformation Lutheran Church
How to Run for Office
Gary Pudup, former political candidate and campaign manager
Refugees Helping Refugees
Sadiya Omar, Pio Moller, and Pam Adams, Refugees Helping Refugees, Inc.
Rochester’s Music Scene
Jeff Spevak, local arts writer and Rochester Democrat and Chronicle pop/rock critic
2017-2018 Series
Toward Urban Education Success: East EPO
Lorna Washington, assistant superintendent, East EPO
Re-Energizing the Legacy of Frederick Douglass
Carvin Eison, Rochester Community TV and SUNY Brockport, and Bleu Cease, executive director, Rochester Contemporary Art Center
Strengthen the Rochester Community through National Service
Panel of National Service Members including Matthew Trombley and Jeiri Flores
Rochester Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative
Dr. Leonard Brock, executive director
2016-2017 Series
Incarceration Nation: The US and Mass Incarceration
Joshua Dubler, University of Rochester assistant professor of religion, founder and director of the Rochester Prison Education Project
Join the Conversation: Health, Hunger, and Food Banks
Mitch Gruber, chief program officer at Foodlink
Re-Humanizing Rochester: The Past, Present, and Future of Rochester’s Transportation System
Mike Governale, Reconnect Rochester, and Erik Frisch, transportation specialist, City of Rochester
A Conversation with Mayor Lovely Warren: Believe in Rochester
City of Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren