Dr. Bruce Purnell

Dr. Bruce Purnell is the Founder and Executive Director of a community-based non-profit organization called The Love More Movement. He is a psychologist, author, artist, speaker, and community activist. Dr. Purnell is a direct descendent of Underground Railroad conductors and station masters. Like his ancestors, he has dedicated his life to creating a world where Love and Transformation are normative and justice, equality, education, self-sufficiency, and freedom exist for everyone.

Through Dr. Purnell’s journey he has instructed at The University of Cincinnati and The University of Lagos, Conducted Academic and leadership Boot-Camps at Bowie State University, created the Transformative Life, Learners, Leaders & Coaches impacting Cycles & Circles (TLC3) initiative and The Transformational Indigenous Leadership Team (TILT). Dr. Purnell has also worked on blueprints for alternative schools, written culturally focused youth engagement curricula, built an arts and recording studio, and founded an international, grassroots movement called “The OverGround Free-Way”. Dr. Purnell is currently working with over 300 youth, 100 parents, and 50 seniors in seven “Love-More” communities in the Washington Metropolitan Area with international sites in Southern Ontario and Nigeria. He is also finishing a book entitled Finding My Eagle which is about the process of self-discovery involved with finding one’s inner wings. Dr. Purnell is in the final edit of the curriculum for TILT. He currently serves as a subject matter expert for SAMHSA and The American Psychological Association for Community Trauma regarding boys and men of color, trauma and suicide prevention, healing from trauma, gangs and crews, and victims of violent crimes.

Dr. Purnell has developed a process for strategically activating social entrepreneurs and architects with the purpose of bringing a creative culture of Love, Hope, Healing, Health, Resilience, and Trust to the most vulnerable communities in the world. The Love More Movements’ universal hashtags are #HealingPeopleHealingPeople, #WeLoveMore and #WeRedefineCool because Dr. Purnell intends to demonstrate that the combination of Love, Resilience, Positive Motivation, and Transformation is a social panacea. He believes that this combination produces the type of energy that heals the root wounds from myriad trauma and motivates people to achieve, thrive and serve. Dr. Purnell’s team engages youth, parents, seniors, families, and communities in creative dialogue, strategically designed to build trust and create safe spaces for healing, honesty, creativity and transformation.