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Meet the Team
Directors
David Parks BSc (Hons), PG Dip, ADPED Social Work
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David grew up in Glasgow, Scotland and has worked in Community
Development and Young People’s Services in Glasgow, Belfast, North Tyneside and Newcastle upon Tyne. David was a Team Manager at Newcastle Youth Offending Team for 12 years, where he managed a range of multi-disciplinary services for young people at risk. David specialised in Court Work, Restorative Justice, and Education, Training and Employment support initiatives. Prior to this David worked as a Prevention Manager at North Tyneside Youth Offending Team for 11 years.
David has developed a network of pan European partners sharing practice and ideas across a range of criminal justice activities and has directed the academic research partnership between Newcastle Youth Offending Team and Northumbria University. He qualified in the Advanced Diploma in Practice Education and Development (Social Work) in 2003 and has a strong commitment to Social Work education and training, teaching on a number of Criminology, Law and Social Policy modules. David is an Associate Partner of the Centre of Offenders and Offending at Northumbria University and a founding Director of The Skill Mill Limited. David is currently Managing Director of The Skill Mill Limited working at The Skill Mill Hub in Gateshead.
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Linzie Pentleton BSc (Hons)
linzie.pentleton@theskillmill.org
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Linzie started her career as a civil engineer working for two local authorities (Alnwick District Council and Sunderland City Council) where she obtained an ONC and HNC in civil engineering. She joined Northumbrian Water in 1997, and since then has worked in various departments and roles. Starting in the sewerage network department as a Technician she then went on to become a Project Manager within the Investment Delivery Department, delivering new network infrastructure. From there she became the Water Efficiency
Manager, working with the community and schools to reduce water consumption. She then progressed to be a Wastewater Treatment Manager responsible for the treatment works compliance in the Hexham area which lead her then to become a Water Treatment Manager. Ensuring drinking water supplying Northumberland was to the correct quality and quantity. During this time she also studied for a BA (Hons) in Leadership and Management which she completed in 2012 and also became a qualified NVQ assessor. She is now the Sewerage Network Controller for Northumberland and Tyne working closely with local authorities to minimise flooding and the Environment Agency preventing pollution. Linzie is a founding Director of The Skill Mill Limited.
Dr.Katri-Liis Lepik
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Katri-Liis Lepik is an Associate Professor of Management at Tallinn University, Estonia. She is a lecturer in the global Master’s programme of Social Entrepreneurship and a mentor in the online Social Entrepreneurship Incubation Program. Currently she also runs the international COST network “Multi-disciplinary innovation for social change” covering 38 countries. Having worked for public, private and non-profit sector, she possesses competences relevant for cross-sectoral cooperation and management consultancy.
Katri-Liis has worked with the other Skill Mill board members for over 20 years developing services and international projects in the social field. Her other social enterprise E-dibledeals with rescuing food and raising awareness on the circular economy.
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Andy Peaden CQSW, MSc
Andy started his career working as a volunteer with Northumbria Probation Service in 1987. He became an Intermediate Treatment worker with Blyth Valley Juvenile Justice team in 1988 and qualified as a Probation Officer in 1991. Andy worked in a range of different locations for both Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire Probation services, including 3 years as manager of St John’s Voluntary Probation Hostel in Leeds.
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Andy left Probation to go back to the world of Youth Justice in 2003 becoming the South Yorkshire ISSP consortium manager. He became Sheffield Youth Offending Service manager in 2005 and Assistant Director for Youth Services in Sheffield 2010. In 2011 Andy was seconded into Sheffield Futures (an independent charity delivering Youth services and Connexions) as Chief Executive. He moved to Leeds to take up the position of Head of Leeds Youth Justice Service in 2012 leaving Leeds in 2020. He is now an Independent Youth Justice consultant. Andy was vice chair and then chair of The Association of Youth Offending Team Managers (AYM) and has been a Director of The Skill Mill Limited since 2018.
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Andrew Park
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Andrew has worked in a range of areas across Government including the economic and domestic affairs secretariat, youth policy, further education and apprenticeships and charity governance. He has extensive experience in designing and setting up new organisations, programmes and projects - with a particular focus upon strategic planning, governance and partnership working.
Prior to moving to Ofcom in 2018 to lead its online strategy and planning team he spent four years with the Centre for Social Impact Bonds and led the design and creation of the Life Chances Fund - an £80m fund centred upon driving closer collaboration between local and central government and front line organisations by focusing upon a shared desire to deliver better outcomes for people and communities across the country.
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Sadiq Mussani
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Sadiq works at the British Asian Trust, leading social finance programmes in India and Pakistan. He has nine years of experience across strategy consulting, M&A, international development, public service reform and innovative finance for social impact.
Previously, Sadiq worked at Social Finance UK as an advisor to local, regional and central government, and has worked with several social enterprises to scale their impact. While at Social Finance, Sadiq led work on the design, launch and performance management of the Skill Mill’s Social Impact Bond.
Sadiq also sits on the board of Kindred, a collaborative peer-to-peer support network and investor based in the Liverpool City Region, and he used to be on the Advisory Board for Beyond the Classroom, a youth-led education social enterprise.
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Managing Director
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Director