About Laura
The teacher, healer, author and
Educational Alchemist behind the work.
I have spent my life helping people learn, grow, lead, heal and remember who they are beneath the roles, expectations, survival strategies and stories they inherited.
My work has taken many forms.
Teacher. Principal. Superintendent. Leadership Developer. Coach. Hypnotherapist. Reiki Master. HeartMathTM trainer. Author. Spiritual Teacher. Grandmother. Friend. Human-being still learning, still healing, still becoming.
Every role has been a doorway into the same truth:
Inner expansion creates outer expansion-whatever we cultivate inside shapes what we create outside.
About Laura
The teacher, healer, author and
Educational Alchemist behind the work.
I have spent my life helping people learn, grow, lead, heal and remember who they are beneath the roles, expectations, survival strategies and stories they inherited.
My works has taken many forms.
Teacher. Principal. Superintendent. Leadership Developer. Coach. Hypnotherapist. Reiki Master. HeartMathTM trainer. Author. Spiritual Teacher. Grandmother. Friend. Human-being still learning, still healing, still becoming.
Every role has been a doorway into the same truth:
Inner expansion creates outer expansion-whatever we cultivate inside shapes what we create outside.
How this work began
I began as a teacher.
That matters because, at my core, I'm still a teacher. I believe people are capable of extraordinary transformation when they feel safe enough to become aware, curious enough to explore, and supported enough to take the next step.
Over the years, I moved through classrooms, schools, districts, leadership teams, healing spaces, workshops and spiritual circles. I worked in education for more than 35 years, including leadership roles as a principal, superintendent, consultant, and coach. I learned how systems shape people.
I also learned that transformation cannot happen only from the outside.
Policies matter. Programs matter. Strategies matter.
But the deeper question is always:
Who are we being while we do what we do?
That question changed everything for me.
It led me deeper to well-being, consciousness, trauma-informed practice, energy psychology, hypnotherapy, HeartMathTM, Reiki, Somatic healing and spiritual awakening.
It also led me into my own healing.
Teacher
Leader
Coach
Hypnotherapist
Author
The wound that became the calling
My work is not theoretical. I teach what I have lived.
There was a time when I carried a constant "diet riot" in my head. Food, hunger, body image, shame, striving, and self-judgement took up enormous space in my life.
Eventually, the tension between who I knew myself to be and how I was living became too great to ignore.
So I began to dig. Not upward into more achievement. Not outward into more approval. But inward.
Like an archeologist of the soul, I began excavating old beliefs, inherited stories, subconscious patterns, trauma imprints, and the places where my body had been carrying what my mind could not resolve.
What I found was not a better version of myself.
I found what has always been there.
Wholeness. Wisdom. Love. Light.
A grounded path with deep roots
Laura Purnell, Ph.D., ACHT is the founder of
the Educational Alchemist, LLC. & Laura Purnell Coaching
Her background includes:
Ph.D. in Urban education with a specialization
in Learning and Development
Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapy Certification
Reiki Master and Spiritual Teacher
Certified HeartMathTM Resilience AdvantageR Trainer
Laura brings together
rigorous education,
lived experience,
heart-wisdom, humor,
and a deep reverence for the
healing process.
Training in trauma-informed practice. Polyvagal Theory, Comprehensive Energy Psychology, Subtle Energy and Integral Breath Therapy.
More than 35 years of experience in Pre-K through doctoral-level education.
Leadership experience as a teacher, principal, superintendent, consultant coach, and personal & professional wellbeing guide.
Training in trauma-informed practice. Polyvagal Theory, Comprehensive Energy Psychology, Subtle Energy and Integral Breath Therapy.
More than 35 years of experience in Pre-K through doctoral-level education.
Leadership experience as a teacher, principal, superintendent, consultant coach, and personal & professional wellbeing guide.
What I Believe
I believe the body is
not the enemy.
I believe our patterns
make sense when we understand what they were trying to protect
I believe healing happens through awareness, compassion, safety,
and practice.
I believe energy
management is more
important than time management
I believe culture changes
when people change
from the inside out
I believe we are not
here to perform wellness.
We are here to embody it.
I believe the most
powerful learning is
not just information.
It is transformation.
I believe every human
carries a spark that can be remembered, tended, and allowed to shine.
This is the Path I Walk
And I would be honored to walk beside you
Start with a short consultation and discover which doorway is right for you.
