Mia B. Russell, a vice president in Wells Fargo’s Government and Community Relations department, will be the featured speaker at the Frederick Community College Moving Mountains speaker series on Wednesday, April 12, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

The monthly series is for teens and young adults and features inspiring professionals who share their life experiences.

During the event, Russell will discuss the importance of avoiding debt and making smart financial decisions as a young person.

Russell is an expert in youth financial education. She brings more than 20 years of financial education experience to Wells Fargo’s Hands on Banking®, a program that provides free financial education to children, teens, adults, seniors, military members, and entrepreneurs throughout the country. In her role, she is responsible for content strategy and integration.

Before joining Wells Fargo, Russell was an Extension Educator at University of Maryland Extension within Central Maryland, leading the financial education program and community outreach. In that position, she conducted research on financial trends and delivered programs on broad financial topics. She also served on the Health Insurance Literacy Initiative team and helped to develop curricula and programs focused on understanding, choosing, and using health insurance.

Russell has also taught workshops for thousands of individuals. Her research includes online financial education, personal financial management tools, and youth financial education. She is a firm advocate of improved financial capability and positive behavior change in adults and youth, especially among diverse and traditionally underserved populations.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in finance from Morgan State University in Baltimore.

Moving Mountains sessions are free and open to the public and will take place in the JBK Theater, located inside the Visual & Performing Arts Center on campus.

Russell is the sixth speaker of the seven-part series. Past speakers include Eric Kruszewski, National Geographic Creative photographer; Danny Farrar, U.S. Army Veteran and CEO of SoldierFit; Kristine Yaroschuk, Maryland State Police Helicopter Pilot; Jason Lee, business owner and community leader; and Amelia Draper, NBC4-Washington meteorologist.

The series will wrap up on May 17 with speaker Maurice Arenas, a studio musician, performer, and TrueFire artist.
 
For more information about the series, contact Mike Pritchard at 301.846.2417.