TOP 100 MAGAZINE

Debra L. Purrington

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At the Bank of Clarke, the word “LOCAL” stands for Leadership, Outstanding Service, Community, Accountability, and Loyalty. For Debra Purrington, its chief fiduciary, these words are more than a favorite acronym; they are the pillars on which she’s built her career. After college, Debra completed a fiduciary training program before attending law school at Western New England University. Her law career began in the probate department of a Massachusetts law firm, an experience she describes as “invaluable.” “I learned everything that could go right and wrong in the trust field,” she shares. For 15 years, Debra continued to practice law in Massachusetts, including fiduciary litigation. Bank of America then recruited her to join its team in Massachusetts. Within a year, she became a regional executive, and over the decade of her tenure, was consistently named to its list of national top performers and received multiple fiduciary excellence awards. Thereafter, she was recruited by Bulkley, Richardson, a law firm, to build a trust administration practice.  She spent seven years devising and implementing a method of trust administration for the law firm environment before becoming the director of a trust department at a small community bank in Virginia in 2019.

 

Debra joined Bank of Clarke as EVP/chief fiduciary in 2021. In just 15 months, she helped triple the size of the Trust Department, pushing assets over the $500 million threshold—the result of her expertise combined with the collective efforts of a team of career fiduciary officers working together. “There’s never just one person responsible for a trust in our world, it’s always a collaboration,” she explains. As a lifetime trust professional with a unique background in litigation, Debra has a deep-rooted understanding of the landscape. “Over the course of my career, I’ve put a lot of thought into how to create a better trust administration model than others have done in the past,” she shares. “Developing one of the most accomplished and competent trust organizations in this part of the country is monumental for more than 140-year-old community bank.”

 

Debra is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in Western Massachusetts.

 

Debra L. Purrington

EVP/Chief Fiduciary and Bank Counsel — Bank of Clarke

Website: www.bankofclarke.com

LinkedIn: Debra Purrington