Dr. Karyn Purvis is the founder and Rees-Jones Director of the TCU Institute of Child Development. Dr. Purvis earned her doctorate in developmental psychology, specializing in serving at-risk children, and she has spent the last 10 years developing research-based interventions for those children. She is a former foster mother with a personal and professional calling to create a welcoming, loving environment for children who come from “hard places.”  Dr. Purvis developed and directed (1999 – present) the Hope Connection, a research and intervention summer day camp for adopted children. Out of that experience and years of research, Drs. Purvis and Cross developed Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI) ^®, a step-by-step intervention designed to bring deep healing to at-risk children and their struggling families. She and her colleague, Dr. David Cross, write for scientific journals, parenting magazines, and have co-authored a feature book, The Connected Child: Bringing Hope and Healing to your Adoptive Family.  She and her colleague, Dr. David Cross were recently honored with the Dallas business journal Heroes of Healthcare Award. Dr. Purvis was awarded the T. Berry Brazelton, M.D. Infant Mental Health Advocacy Award, a state-wide award for child advocacy. She was also awarded the title of Distinguished Fellow in Adoption and Child Development by the National Council for Adoption. Dr. Purvis was appointed Presiding Officer of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Committee on Licensing Standards by Governor Rick Perry.