Trudy Birtwell
Learning & Skills Director
Trudy has a background of almost ten years working in the public sector in the field of organisational, development, and capacity building.
During that time she has designed and managed a series of leadership programmes for senior managers and elected members focused on building trust and strengthening relationships to deliver successful improved and effective partnership and collaborative working.
Over the years Trudy has forged links with regional and national bodies such as Higher Education Funding Council for England, Open University, Institute of Leadership and Management to influence the development and integration of curriculum modules for new and existing learning programmes.
Trudy regularly networks with national organisations across the public, private and third sectors including professional accrediting bodies and other Government departments to encourage a joined up approach to improving workforce skills.
Her previous roles have included managing funded community programmes and commercial learning programmes for organisations including British Aerospace and BNFL.
A Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development, Trudy has an MA in Personnel and Development for which she specialised her research on Knowledge Management. She is now leading ASC's work on learning and skills.
t.birtwell@ascskills.org.uk
0113 394 4638
Amanda Lane
Learning & Resources Manager
Amanda has been involved in learning and skills for the past 17 years. She has held a number of management positions in both public and private sector organisations in England and Scotland. She has taken an active role in introducing major curriculum innovations and skills strategies both at a regional, national and European level, including a European Tourism programme and workplace skills for life.
Amanda has also worked as a consultant on a number of national learning projects, including managing a national online tutor network. She is an experienced and qualified online tutor having been involved in online learning since 1998. Amanda has designed learning programmes and resources for both online and traditional delivery. She also took part in a teacher exchange in Finland.
Amanda has a keen interest in e-learning and is currently in the final year of an MSc in Multimedia and E-learning. She is also a keen organic gardener and an archer (recurve bow, the modern version of the traditional Longbow).
a.lane@ascskills.org.uk
0113 394 4626
John Seymour
Learning & Skills Advisor
I am on secondment to ASC’s learning and skills team from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (formerly DfES), where I’ve been involved since 1997 in developing learning and skills policy at a national level. The secondment gives me an opportunity to see the world of skills from an entirely different and very welcome new perspective.
Before I joined ASC I was responsible for policy on careers advice for adults: contributing to the Leitch Review of Skills; developing proposals for a new, universal adult career service which were published in World Class Skills (July 2007); and contributing to proposals for an age strategy on careers advice.
Experience prior to that includes developing and implementing grant systems to enable more people to participate and stay on in further education; working with the Learning and Skills Council, Local Autorities and other partners to develop and promote family learning policy; working across government to promote the benefits of learning in later life, including finding the oldest learner in the country (aged 107); contributing to policies on neighbourhood renewal, including the Policy Action Team on Skills for Neighbourhood Renewal; contributing to the National Advisory Group for Continuing Education (the Fryer Group), co-ordinating production and consultation on the Learning Age Green Paper etc in 1997.
I have an LLB, an MBA and a Certificate Community Development; two children, two dogs and three badly behaved motorcycles.
j.seymour@ascskills.org.uk
0113 394 4595
Briony Turner
Brownfield Skills Programme Manager
Briony has spent the last two years working in the field of regeneration, for English Partnerships, the National Regeneration Agency. Within her time at English Partnerships, on their Graduate Development Programme, she went out on placement to a variety of organisations including the Olympic Delivery Authority, St George PLC, the North West Regional Development Agency, the Housing Corporation and the London and Quadrant Group. During this time, Briony developed professional and technical competence in the reuse of brownfield land, urban design, mixed use development, creation of sustainable communities, housing, programme management and community consultation.
Briony is an Associate Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment. She brings with her a professional interest in the principles of sustainable development and technical knowledge from the Imperial MSc in Environmental Technology where she specialised in Ecological Management.
As a member of the SPONGE Sustainable Development Network for Property & Construction Professionals and as an ambassador for the ASC, Briony is keen to encourage young professionals into the regeneration sector.
Ruth Dowson
Programme Manager
Debi Greaves
QA & Monitoring Officer
Debi has worked in the public sector for the past 17 years, spending 12 years within the Court Service where she undertook various administrative roles including providing PA support to the Judiciary within the West Yorkshire Region. Debi has spent the last five years working for Sure Start within DfES. Her main role was to influence and support local authorities in the Yorkshire & Humber region with the local delivery of the Every Child Matters agenda through the roll out of Children's Centres and Children's Fund programmes (covering the 0-13 age range).
Debi's interests include amateur dramatics and football.
d.greaves@ascskills.org.uk
0113 394 4614
Jessica Waters
Learning & Resources Officer
I have been involved in teaching and learning in Further Education Colleges for 5 years. Prior to this I worked in both private and public organisations ranging from Corporate PR consultants, Internet start ups and local government.
I am a fully qualified literacy tutor for Adult Skills for Life (SfL) and in this role I worked and negotiated with employers and learners to deliver courses at work and developed a workplace SfL engagement strategy for other tutors to use. I also contextualised and developed on-line SfL courses and supported the introduction of online and laptop testing. As well as this I was a mentor and local co-ordinator for the West Yorkshire Workplace SfL Network and worked closely with the Learning and Skills Council to develop good working practice amongst workplace SfL professionals.
As Learning and Resources Officer for the ASC I am responsible for developing appropriate resources for professionals and young people.
j.waters@ascskills.org.uk
0113 394 4638
Nicola Bond
Learning & Skills Officer
Nicola works closely with the other members of the learning and skills team to manage and support the development of a variety of ASC learning programmes and products. She is responsible for the delivery of sustainable community learning resources and materials for professionals and young people.
Before joining the ASC Nicola spent three years as a public policy and regeneration consultant. She worked on a diverse range of evaluation, research and learning network projects and developed a particular interest in education and skills and the exchange of knowledge and learning. Prior to this, Nicola spent two years working at the Audit Commission.
Nicola studied in Newcastle and Leeds where she was awarded a degree in Geography and a masters in urban regeneration.
n.bond@ascskills.org.uk
0113 394 4591
Kelly Brewell
Team Assistant
Kelly graduated in Business and Personnel. For the past three years Kelly has worked within the HR profession at CPC (A Premier Farnell Group Company), based in Preston, Lancashire, where her focus was on recruitment and retention, motivation and engagement, and best practice.
Kelly joined ASC following her relocation from Preston.
k.brewell@ascskills.org.uk
0113 394 4574
