As the Post High School Resources & Opportunities Manager at the Baltimore City non-profit Thread, Beverly Purnell partners with young adults to address barriers encountered as they work toward their personal and professional goals. She also networks with individuals and groups to identify resources and opportunities and is the head of the Thread legal/incarceration project.
  
 Beverly started her career in the sciences. She earned a PhD in molecular and cellular biology from Penn State University and did postdoctoral work in Goettingen, Germany. She then worked for 25 years as an editor at the world-renowned journal Science, where she networked with researchers worldwide for the solicitation, selection, and technical editing of manuscripts. While working as an editor, Beverly mentored young people one-on-one and volunteered with multiple Baltimore non-profits. These relationships pulled her in another direction for full-time work with Baltimore's young people.