Top Diversity Leaders in Healthcare - 2021

Purnell joined BJC in September 2020. He previously served as the head of Health Equity Works, a research group at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. He also served as a consultant to BJC’s Center for Clinical Excellence. He led research on social services disparities impacting vulnerable populations following a police-involved shooting death in Ferguson, Missouri. His work resulted in the landmark policy report, “For the Sake of All,” which led to Health Equity Works, an organization that uses data to spur collaboration and change at the community level. At BJC, he spearheaded efforts to update and enhance the system’s community health improvement strategy by better incorporating socioeconomic factors into the work.