During his tenure as president of National Education Association Rhode Island, Purtill has held numerous positions of leadership on statewide boards and commissions, in both the labor and education communities. He is secretary treasurer of the Institute for Labor Studies and Research, and on the board of directors of the Working Rhode Island coalition and the Providence Performing Arts Center.
Purtill is a member of the Executive Committee Rhode Island AFL-CIO. He taught history in the Exeter-West Greenwich school system for 22 years prior to taking office in 1999.
