Hartford, CT (January 5, 2025) – During the month of December, the Connecticut Sun, Tow Youth Justice institute (TYJI) at the University of New Haven and Our Piece of the Pie, Inc. hosted two workshop sessions for the eight inaugural Change Can’t Wait fellows. The sessions were hosted in Hartford at the Legislative Office Building and the Supreme Court Building.

The first session took place on Friday, December 5 and featured Connecticut Sun Associate Head Coach Roneeka Hodges. She spoke about staying consistent and motivated, while encouraging the youth to take full advantage of opportunities such as this fellowship because of the resources provided. Throughout her journey from Louisiana State University to Florida, Roneeka described how she continued to stay confident, passionate, and focused on her goals of coaching.

“When I finished playing, in my head I thought that the path would be easy for me to transition to coaching or whatever it was that I wanted to do after basketball. But it wasn’t that easy. That transition wasn’t as smooth as I thought it would be, but I still landed on my feet. I started out as a volunteer, and I would say I started out as a volunteer [because] for one, there wasn’t much opportunity when I decided to walk away. Also, I wasn’t 100% sure that I wanted to be a coach because I spent 15 years [playing] professionally, but probably 25 years playing basketball. So, all I knew was travel. All I knew was how to live out of a bag and at that particular time my heart wanted something different,” said Roneeka Hodges.

This workshop took place at the Legislative Office Building and featured a tour of the facility as well as Susan Keane of the Connecticut General Assembly and Shelby Henderson of the Tow Youth Justice Institute introducing the fellows to the legislative process.

The second workshop took place on Friday, December 19 in the Connecticut Supreme Court Building. State of Connecticut Chief Justice Raheem Mullins spoke to the fellows about civic engagement after a tour of the building, offering a unique experience to hear from a member of the state judiciary system.

After the 2025 season, the Connecticut Sun launched the inaugural Change Can’t Wait Fellowship in collaboration with the Tow Youth Justice Institute (TYJI) at the university of New Haven and Our Piece of the Pie, Inc. Eight youth leaders aged 15-22 were selected to receive education, mentorship, and opportunities through bi-monthly workshops. From October 2025 to June 2026, leaders from local organizations will speak at the workshops and assist the fellows with building platforms to advocate for justice while strengthening their communities. Upon the conclusion of the program, the fellows will present a research project based on social justice and the tools learned from leadership development, policy advocacy, civic engagement, and mentorship and networking workshops.

Established in 2003, the Connecticut Sun is a professional women’s basketball team in the Women’s National Basketball Association that takes residence at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. For more information on the team’s community events and initiatives visit https://sun.wnba.com/community. To purchase season tickets, visit www.connecticutsun.com or call 1-877-SUN-TIXX.

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