(OSKALOOSA, Iowa) – William Penn University staff, faculty and students will ring in the start of the spring semester with the Dean’s Convocation on Thursday, January 18, at 11:15 a.m. in the main gymnasium of the Oskaloosa campus. William Penn welcomes Chicago native, Christina Fernandez-Morrow, as the keynote speaker.

Fernandez-Morrow moved to Des Moines in 2001 after accepting a public relations position with State Farm Insurance Co. She has worked in the non-profit world for most of her career and launched the Latina Leadership Initiative of Greater Des Moines, the only agency in the state that focuses on leadership development for young Latinas.

While in Des Moines, Christina helped start a number of community organizations, including the Young Professionals Connection and Art Noir, where she was instrumental in kicking off their inaugural Hair Ball fundraiser. She was a founder of Iowa’s Latino Heritage Festival. Most recently, she started the Warren Morrow Latin Music Festival, named for her late husband who was also an active Des Moines resident and Latino advocate.

Among her recognitions for her community service, Christina was LATINA magazine’s Next Generation Latina award winner, featured in the Des Moines Registers’ “13 People to Watch in 2013”, and a 40 Under 40 award recipient.

Christina is currently serving as an educator at Des Moines University, where she creates live patient-simulated clinical examinations for medical students.