Marshall Purnell

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Personal information
Marshall Purnell
Name	Marshall Purnell
Nationality	American
Birth date
Birth place	Grand Rapids, Mi.
Work
Practice name	Devrouax + Purnell Architects and Planners, PC
Significant buildings	PEPCO Headquarters Washington Convention Center Nationals Park
Significant projects	African American Civil War Memorial

Marshall Purnell (b. June 8, 1950) is a prominent African-American architect and president of the American Institute of Architects.

1 Life
- 1.1 Career
2 Resources
- 2.1 References
- 2.2 External links

[edit] Life

Born in Toledo Ohio, and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan, he is the second son of Leila (Davis) Purnell and the late long-time professional jazz saxophonist Curtis Purnell (1922-2006). After attending Ottawa Hills High School and playing on its state high school championship winning basketball team, he went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Architecture & Urban Planning and a Master of Architecture from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.^[1] He has been in private practice with partner Paul S. Devrouax, FAIA since 1980.^[2]

[edit] Career

In 2007, Purnell was elected to serve as the 2007 First Vice President/President-elect/2008 President of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Washington, D.C. Purnell, an AIA regional director from the Mid-Atlantic Region and design principal of Devrouax+Purnell Architects and Planners PC, Washington, DC, has been involved in numerous AIA activities, including service on the Board Advocacy and Diversity committees, as well as on the AIA Scholarship, Historic Resources and Housing committees. He has also been involved in leadership at the local component level through the AIA District of Columbia chapter (AIA|DC) and is a Fellow of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), of which he was elected president, and to several other executive positions.^[3]