Kathy Purnell, Esq., Ph.D., is a certified affiliate of APPA. She has over two decades of professional experience as a lawyer, professor, and nonprofit administrator. She is a graduate of Harvard University (A.B.), Cornell University (Ph.D.), and the DePaul University College of Law (J.D.). Dr. Purnell is a licensed attorney in the State of Michigan and is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, where she served as the Diversity Chair and Pro Bono Chair of AILA’s Michigan chapter. Her current practice is focused on civil and human legal practice as well as mindfulness and resilience for transformative justice. She has also used her advanced training in political philosophy, law, and ethics to teach students at seven different universities including Kalamazoo College, Western Michigan University, and DePaul University. Her signature programs include annual “Resilience Retreats” at GilChrist, the public retreat center of the Fetzer Institute. Her 2024 schedule of retreats is available at:

https://fetzer.org/work/calendar/search/event-category-gilchrist.

She currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Western Michigan University Center for the Study of Ethics in Society and is a regular leader of their Ethics Book Clubs for challenging public dialogues on topics such as immigration, racial equity in education, hate speech in democratic community, and housing as a human right. She is most passionate about engaging public audiences in philosophical inquiry and to facilitate reflection that will transform ourselves and our relationships with others. She is a board member of the Michigan Transformation Collective and is racial healing practitioner who has facilitated conversations on racial equity for many professional groups including athletic coaches, law enforcement cadets, nonprofit leaders and university students & staff.