Brian Purnell

The African proverb says: It takes a village to raise a child, which is the career long motto of Brian G. Purnell. Brian has been working as Counselor in the and Mental Health field over 25 years. His love for families and the strength of families came from his large family of whom he holds very dearly. Brian’s long-term mentor, Dr. Billy Roberts, launched his desire to assist families in the psychology field that led him to receive honors in Psychology from Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama. After leaving Alabama, Brian went on to Ph.D. program in Counseling Psychology at University of Missouri-Columbia of which he received honors while in his Masters degree with a specialization in Child and Adolescent Development. A desire to research the African American family as whole, Brian ventured to District of Columbia, where he gain experience working in prisons, mental health hospitals, became a minister, while he worked in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County School districts as a Professional School Counselor. While his tenure in North Carolina since 2005, he has worked as a Mental Health Liaison for Raleigh Police Department and NC Colleges and Universities.