Meet the Expert: Penny Lee, Engagement and Innovation Lead
Author: Amber Lovell
In our latest installment of Meet the Expert, I sat down with Penny Lee, the Engagement and Innovation Lead at Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate School in York.
With a fascinating background in commercial media, a freshly completed Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence, and playing witness to a sudden, hilarious mid-interview battle with a rogue wasp, Penny took the time to share her unique insights on transitioning into education, building AI literacy, and why the future of technology will always leave human fingerprints with me for the latest edition of Meet the Expert, a spin-off of our Meet the Educator series.
Ladles and jelly spoons, it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Penny Lee!
From creative director to the classroom: A non-linear path to purpose
While some experts follow a strictly linear path into education, Penny’s transition was a total pivot from a highly successful corporate career.
From 2008 up until 2024, Penny climbed the ranks to become a Creative Director at Global, one of the largest media and radio groups in the UK. But despite loving her work, it reached a point where it felt heavily money-focused which wasn’t really the goal.
“The projects I enjoyed working on more than anything were with the schools,” Penny recalls.
“Queen Ethelburga’s was one of my corporate clients, and every time I came here, the sun came out. Everyone was so lovely, and the students were just so down-to-earth, kind, and nice. I fell in love with the place, honestly.”
It was that realisation sparked a question: “What can I do that’s more worthwhile?”
“I’m not a teacher, but I love mentoring and coaching, and passing on transferable skills and that’s how I ended up here.”
A day in the life: No two days alike
“There is definitely not a typical day – and that’s the best part!”
To give you an idea of how varied the role is, here is what a muddled-together week could look like for Penny Lee:
However, moving from the fast-paced inertia of commercial media to an educational environment brought its own unique learning curve, specifically around processes.
“Coming from a background creating media for advertising, there were licenses and processes, but this is a completely separate set of safeguarding blocks,” she explains.
“It is an easy transition, if not slightly frustrating when you’re used to working at speed. The biggest challenge for me is slowing down on the process, because human beings are at the heart of it.”
Embracing innovation: The AI matrix
When it comes to the major innovation trend of our time (AI), Penny Lee brings unique expertise to the table, having officially finished her Master’s in the subject.
(Woo!)
Her core mission is to help build a student body that is entirely AI-literate, rather than terrified.
“Adults are super scared of AI, but it’s not really a feeling that young people have about it,” Penny notes. “One of our goals is to have incredibly AI-literate students who are confident going out into the workplace afterwards.”
For Penny Lee, true literacy means understanding what is going on under the bonnet:
“Doing that Master’s made me genuinely realise that it’s just maths. We’re asking maths to write our emails to solicitors, which is fine, but it’s just maths. It’s really nothing to be scared of.”
This fresh perspective to AI that Penny Lee brings to the school drives how they review new tools. When implementing software for their new podcast studio, Penny chose Descript over competing platforms because of its data privacy configuration.
“With Descript, you can absolutely make sure that the function to use images and audio for future AI training is turned off, and that it’s safe for young people.”
The next 5 years: The future leaves fingerprints
A slight fatigue can be seen and felt when it comes to talk of AI in the EdTech space because in every corner of the sector there is a lot of fear-mongering that classrooms will be replaced entirely by AI.
“That is not going to happen; we need human beings to teach human beings. If AI trains on the open web, it runs the risk of regurgitating misinformation. Instead, AI will help run schools much more smoothly behind the scenes. It’s time to shake up a stale education system.”
“My core takeaway from studying AI is that the future is human, and the future leaves fingerprints. Just like ancient storytelling, everything comes back to the human voice, human faces, and our beautiful, fallible traits.”
The magic wand wish
I closed this interview the same way I end all of my Meet the Educator and Meet the Expert pieces. In a world that can often feel vast and overwhelming, a little hope goes a long way. With that in mind, I asked Penny Lee what she would do if she had a magic wand and one wish for the education sector.
If you could wave a magic wand and solve one problem in education, what would it be?
“I would give every 10 students a teacher, and I would give that teacher more money and more breaks.”
In an ideal world, education across both independent and state schools would feature super-small class sizes, tailored approaches, unique alternative environments (like outdoor working spaces), and a highly supported, well-compensated teaching staff.
Keeping education human
Penny Lee’s journey from the high-frequency world of commercial media to the heart of Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate is a powerful reminder that innovation in education isn’t just about adopting the newest software… it’s about changing how we think.
By undergoing her MA studies and demystifying AI as “just maths” and treating it as a tool to streamline the background noise of schooling, Penny is helping to cultivate a generation of digital citizens who are confident, critical, and entirely unafraid of the future!
Ultimately, her work proves that no matter how advanced our algorithms become, the magic of education will always rely on human connection, mentorship, and those irreplaceable, beautiful, fallible traits that define us.
Whether she is coaching a student through a graduation speech, managing a media project, Penny Lee is ensuring that the future of learning at Queen Ethelburga’s will always leave distinctly human fingerprints.
We are incredibly grateful to Penny for sharing her time, her expertise, and her refreshing perspective with us!
If you’d like to keep up with Penny Lee, her latest audio adventure, The Plot Department, is launching soon! Click here to follow on Instagram!
Information
Author: Amber Lovell
Share this story
Subscribe
Would you like our newest articles delivered to your inbox? Sign up now!
In our latest installment of Meet the Expert, I sat down with Penny Lee, the Engagement and Innovation Lead at Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate School in York.
With a fascinating background in commercial media, a freshly completed Master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence, and playing witness to a sudden, hilarious mid-interview battle with a rogue wasp, Penny took the time to share her unique insights on transitioning into education, building AI literacy, and why the future of technology will always leave human fingerprints with me for the latest edition of Meet the Expert, a spin-off of our Meet the Educator series.
Ladles and jelly spoons, it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Penny Lee!
From creative director to the classroom: A non-linear path to purpose
While some experts follow a strictly linear path into education, Penny’s transition was a total pivot from a highly successful corporate career.
From 2008 up until 2024, Penny climbed the ranks to become a Creative Director at Global, one of the largest media and radio groups in the UK. But despite loving her work, it reached a point where it felt heavily money-focused which wasn’t really the goal.
“The projects I enjoyed working on more than anything were with the schools,” Penny recalls.
“Queen Ethelburga’s was one of my corporate clients, and every time I came here, the sun came out. Everyone was so lovely, and the students were just so down-to-earth, kind, and nice. I fell in love with the place, honestly.”
It was that realisation sparked a question: “What can I do that’s more worthwhile?”
“I’m not a teacher, but I love mentoring and coaching, and passing on transferable skills and that’s how I ended up here.”
A day in the life: No two days alike
“There is definitely not a typical day – and that’s the best part!”
To give you an idea of how varied the role is, here is what a muddled-together week could look like for Penny Lee:
However, moving from the fast-paced inertia of commercial media to an educational environment brought its own unique learning curve, specifically around processes.
“Coming from a background creating media for advertising, there were licenses and processes, but this is a completely separate set of safeguarding blocks,” she explains.
“It is an easy transition, if not slightly frustrating when you’re used to working at speed. The biggest challenge for me is slowing down on the process, because human beings are at the heart of it.”
Embracing innovation: The AI matrix
When it comes to the major innovation trend of our time (AI), Penny Lee brings unique expertise to the table, having officially finished her Master’s in the subject.
(Woo!)
Her core mission is to help build a student body that is entirely AI-literate, rather than terrified.
“Adults are super scared of AI, but it’s not really a feeling that young people have about it,” Penny notes. “One of our goals is to have incredibly AI-literate students who are confident going out into the workplace afterwards.”
For Penny Lee, true literacy means understanding what is going on under the bonnet:
“Doing that Master’s made me genuinely realise that it’s just maths. We’re asking maths to write our emails to solicitors, which is fine, but it’s just maths. It’s really nothing to be scared of.”
This fresh perspective to AI that Penny Lee brings to the school drives how they review new tools. When implementing software for their new podcast studio, Penny chose Descript over competing platforms because of its data privacy configuration.
“With Descript, you can absolutely make sure that the function to use images and audio for future AI training is turned off, and that it’s safe for young people.”
The next 5 years: The future leaves fingerprints
A slight fatigue can be seen and felt when it comes to talk of AI in the EdTech space because in every corner of the sector there is a lot of fear-mongering that classrooms will be replaced entirely by AI.
“That is not going to happen; we need human beings to teach human beings. If AI trains on the open web, it runs the risk of regurgitating misinformation. Instead, AI will help run schools much more smoothly behind the scenes. It’s time to shake up a stale education system.”
“My core takeaway from studying AI is that the future is human, and the future leaves fingerprints. Just like ancient storytelling, everything comes back to the human voice, human faces, and our beautiful, fallible traits.”
The magic wand wish
I closed this interview the same way I end all of my Meet the Educator and Meet the Expert pieces. In a world that can often feel vast and overwhelming, a little hope goes a long way. With that in mind, I asked Penny Lee what she would do if she had a magic wand and one wish for the education sector.
If you could wave a magic wand and solve one problem in education, what would it be?
“I would give every 10 students a teacher, and I would give that teacher more money and more breaks.”
In an ideal world, education across both independent and state schools would feature super-small class sizes, tailored approaches, unique alternative environments (like outdoor working spaces), and a highly supported, well-compensated teaching staff.
Keeping education human
Penny Lee’s journey from the high-frequency world of commercial media to the heart of Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate is a powerful reminder that innovation in education isn’t just about adopting the newest software… it’s about changing how we think.
By undergoing her MA studies and demystifying AI as “just maths” and treating it as a tool to streamline the background noise of schooling, Penny is helping to cultivate a generation of digital citizens who are confident, critical, and entirely unafraid of the future!
Ultimately, her work proves that no matter how advanced our algorithms become, the magic of education will always rely on human connection, mentorship, and those irreplaceable, beautiful, fallible traits that define us.
Whether she is coaching a student through a graduation speech, managing a media project, Penny Lee is ensuring that the future of learning at Queen Ethelburga’s will always leave distinctly human fingerprints.
We are incredibly grateful to Penny for sharing her time, her expertise, and her refreshing perspective with us!
If you’d like to keep up with Penny Lee, her latest audio adventure, The Plot Department, is launching soon! Click here to follow on Instagram!
Share this story
Subscribe
Would you like our newest articles delivered to your inbox? Sign up now!
