As you walk the halls of the Foster School of Business, you might notice a familiar face among the sea of students, staff, and faculty. Someone whose kind smile and even kinder words uplift everyone in the room: Michelle Purnell-Hepburn (BA ’79, MBA ’82), Associate Dean for Inclusion and Diversity and adjunct finance professor.

A proud Double Dawg, Purnell-Hepburn built a distinguished career in finance and banking before pivoting to higher education and leading efforts toward inclusivity and belonging across the University of Washington.

The vital work that Purnell-Hepburn does for the Foster community may sometimes go unseen, yet her impact continues to shape the welcoming campus environment. But to better understand what this associate dean accomplishes every day, it’s important to start at the beginning.

From UW Business student to CFO

Before it was named after Michael G. Foster, Purnell-Hepburn attended the UW Business School for four years, graduating in 1979 with a BA in finance and business economics. In 1982, she earned her MBA in finance and accounting.

As a student, Purnell-Hepburn enjoyed all the classic moments that make the university special, including “Husky football games, cherry blossoms in the spring, and my classes with some brilliant professors, including Dr. Thaddeus Spratlen, Dr. Edward Rice, Dr. Karma Hadjimichalakis, Dr. Alan Hess, and Dr. Robert Bowen.”

Post-grad, Purnell-Hepburn took her passion for finance to new heights, working for Hewlett Packard, Group Health Credit Union, Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union, and Salal Credit Union, to name a few. Her positions ranged from controller to vice-president to chief financial officer.

Throughout her distinguished career, Purnell-Hepburn learned vital lessons that helped support her: “Tell the truth, especially when it’s difficult, and do your best to be thorough in your work and in support of your leaders.”

Beyond banking, Purnell-Hepburn served as the Seattle Foundation’s Managing Director, Controller, as well as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Director, creating and advancing opportunities through philanthropy and stewardship. Her takeaways for business leaders include: “Different ethnicities process information differently. Not all of us are hardwired the same way. Learn about different ethnicities to support your own and be an ally to others.”

Through this experience, she decided to return to the University of Washington in December 2022, no longer as a student, but as its Associate Dean for Inclusion and Diversity. As Purnell-Hepburn grew, so did the Foster School.

“I am so pleased to witness more diversity, or as I like to say, ‘all flavors of melanin’ here on campus,” she says. “Time, societal progress, the work of previous deans, and the work of Deans Frank Hodge and Christina Fong have created an atmosphere of belonging for more students, staff, and faculty. Having a Chief Diversity Officer, a University President, staff roles focused on inclusion and belonging, and a dormitory named after Drs. Thaddeus and Lois Price Spratlen are University of Washington experiences that I did not dream would happen.”

Back on campus with a new goal

An ordinary day for Purnell-Hepburn is filled with staff and faculty meetings, student mentoring, meetings with corporate partners, and event planning. Her main role is to support and guide the community in being brave in the areas of inclusion and belonging, ensuring that every individual feels welcome in every room they enter.

It takes a village to support Foster’s efforts toward inclusivity, and Purnell-Hepburn has quite the village. Coined the Access, Belonging, and Community (ABC) Team, her colleagues span several Foster departments and are determined to support various faculty, staff, and student communities. These centers include Undergraduate Diversity Services, Graduate Diversity Services, and the Consulting and Business Development Center (CBDC).

At Foster, Purnell-Hepburn wears many hats. Some days, she helps plan identity-based events, such as the Celebration of Black Culture and Alumni Achievement, Latine Alumni Achievement, FOSTERing Community Thursdays, and First Generation Fireside Chats. On other days, she holds meetings with faculty, alumni, and corporate partners to support the Dean’s Impact Scholar program, which brings business leaders to campus to teach courses.

“Michelle challenges us to be better tomorrow than we are today,” says Dean Frank Hodge. “She is instrumental in making the Foster School a place where every student, faculty, and staff member can excel and feel a true sense of community.”

Since 2022, Purnell-Hepburn has also taught the Foster class Finance 579: “The Power of Access: Borrowing for Growth for Small Entrepreneurial Firms,” which she teaches annually, along with Dean Emeritus Dr. William Bradford.

Throughout the year, Purnell-Hepburn completes smaller projects, such as policy updates, monthly heritage articles, and fundraising efforts.

“The best part of my day, however, is meeting with students about their hopes, dreams, and concerns,” she shares.

One of Purnell-Hepburn’s favorite duties as Associate Dean of Inclusion and Diversity is mentoring.

“Students, staff, and faculty often come to me when something is not quite right in their spirit,” she shares. “My opportunity is to uplift them by sharing that I believe in them and that they can have what they want. I’m grateful to speak about how students are a gift to our community, school, and what our world needs, as well as how to practice an abundance mindset versus a scarcity mindset. Living with a scarcity mindset creates more scarcity; living and practicing an abundance mindset creates abundance. I love helping people see that they have that choice.”

Above all, Purnell-Hepburn is dedicated to fostering a sense of belonging, which begins when the school, faculty, and staff do their best to provide the assistance the community needs. She’s thankful for Frank Hodge, and her predecessor, Christina Fong, for creating this opportunity to serve.

“As a community, Foster needs to continue to encourage and support registered student organizations (RSOs) to stay true to their purpose of uplifting their members in their own unique ways,” she says. “Secondly, I encourage RSO leaders to engage with our Foster colleagues and me, so we can directly support the health and longevity of these groups.”

Pearls of wisdom and looking toward the future

Building a rewarding career as a woman in business is no easy task, but professionals like Purnell-Hepburn prove its worth. As Associate Dean, she reflects on the lessons she’s learned from her colleagues and students at Foster:

“Asking questions is a great skill to have. Why? Because it demonstrates that you care and that you want to learn. I wish I had known that earlier in my career. Be yourself. Know your greatest strength, your core needs, your superpower, and your ‘next time opportunities’ (weaknesses). Get clear about what you want to be. Knowing these and being able to succinctly share these traits with others will lead you to the life you want to live.”

Purnell-Hepburn has seen the progression of Foster first-hand. From her time as a student to her current role, she’s watched the business community grow into an inclusive and supportive environment for all who enter its doors. With her guidance, Foster will continue to be that place, and she’s optimistic about that future.

“My first hope is that our purpose statement remains: ‘Together…we foster leaders, we foster insights, we foster progress…to better humanity.’” she concludes.

“My next hope is that Foster moves ever higher to embrace students and support them in graduating. Foster needs to continue to be in a ‘learning mode’ of what our students need and what the economy needs. Given that Foster has such a wide variety of students, we need to continue on the path of giving the support that the students need, partnering with the latest discoveries in the field of business that will uplift humanity.”