OUR EXPERTS

Criminologist and Urban Youth Specialist

Craig Pinkney

Craig Pinkney is a Criminologist, Urban Youth Specialist, and Chief Executive of SOLVE: The Centre for Youth Violence and Conflict. Craig is an experienced worker and academically holds a BA (Hons) in Youth & Community Development (JNC), Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning, Post Graduate Certificate in Research, Masters Degree in Criminology and is currently a PhD Researcher in Social Sciences at Birmingham City University. Craig has over 18 years of experience as an outreach worker, transformational speaker, international gang exit strategist, training facilitator, mediator, mentor and filmmaker.

Director

Liz Pemberton

Liz Pemberton (she/her) is the Director of The Black Nursery Manager Ltd - a training & consultancy company which focuses on anti-racist practice within Early Years. With 16 years in the education sector, Liz’s roles have included Secondary School Teacher (QTS), public speaker and up until recently, Nursery Manager, allowing her to teach, manage, support and educate Early Years students, practitioners and professionals in a variety of forums. Her mission is to promote inclusive practice in the Early Years (under 5’s) education sector, with a particular focus on how race, culture and ethnicity should be considered in this practice. During her career, Liz has developed a fantastic network of likeminded practitioners and professionals, broadening her focus from Nursery Management to sharing her expertise through media. Not letting the current circumstances get in her way, more recently, Liz has been creating content on her Instagram page, delivering webinars, working closely with Local Authorities to consult on developing anti-racist strategy and collaborating with Early Years organisations to promote this best practice, as she knows that this is important and urgent work that we all need to do.

Director

Sean Monaghan

Sean has worked for eight years as a frontline practitioner, trainer, and team manager supporting young people across the UK. His specialism lies in working with young people at risk of or involved in serious youth violence, gangs, exploitation, extremism, and substance misuse. This is always through a relational and systemic approach, building on what strengths are already present to support a reduction of risk and a positive future for those in need of support. While a frontline practitioner, Sean developed and ran a hyper-local model, supporting children, young people, and families in a particular location with an array of needs. The offer was broad, from supporting young people to break the cycle of multi-generational unemployment, to desistance from pro-criminal groups to future-oriented and social action projects. Currently, Sean is a Team Manager supporting Hospital-Based Violence Interruption services across three hospitals in Birmingham, UK. His team now comprises specialist practitioners including exploitation workers and a counselor. Sean and his team's practice includes complex safety planning and crisis-and-risk management while maintaining trauma-informed care, all within a contextual safeguarding framework. Sean has conducted consultancy and training work for education establishments, Policing teams, Clinicians, and the Military.

Director

Imani Clough

Imani Clough (she/her) is the Director of Imani Academy Ltd - a creative youth consultation and participation enterprise. Imani has 10 years of experience in the youth/education sector, in pastoral leadership, social care practice & community engagement. It is here that Imani realised the limitations/damage being caused to young people, families & communities, because of reactive responses to complex issues. She decided to take a more innovative approach to addressing these shortcomings, and explore the root causes of social problems and structures that cause systems to behave the way they do. As a Freelance Social justice Facilitator, Character Educator and Coach, she uses philosophy for children and the character education framework to bring educators and children and young people together; to explore, discuss and take action on social justice issues. Imani has a degree in Youth Justice and Masters in Character Education. Her work encompasses many strands of creative direction and is informed by a wide range of trauma informed practices, educational philosophy and youth participatory principles.

Director

Matthew Popo

Matthew Popo is the proud founder of an organisation called WeThnk. WeThnk is an organisation for all those interested in Youth Work practice, Pastoral Care, Engagement strategy, parenting advice and techniques and most importantly for the young people themselves.  While Matthew enjoys being able to engage with young people directly through a variety of platforms, he also continues to teach and train others so that he can continue to push the agenda of positive youth engagement and the importance of strong relationships. On completion of his undergraduate degree in Criminology, to date, his professional career has been primarily focused on pastoral leadership within community, education and the social care setting. Matthew has worked tirelessly to improve outcomes for young people as it is his firm belief that all young people deserve to have somebody to teach, support and elevate them. Both professionally and on a voluntary basis, Matthew titles himself as a ‘Youth Engagement and Pastoral Specialist’. In addition, Matthew has recently been appointed as the Principal of Symphony Schools Birmingham. Symphony Schools seeks to educate, equip and empower young, gifted black boys by providing free core subject extra tuition classes in line with the National curriculum.

Senior Programmes Manger

Kasharel Belle

Kasharel Belle is an English Teacher by profession, Community Mentor, AVA Assessor, founder of ‘US MOMS’ Community based Projects and Founder, Director and Senior Programmes Manger of Essence Youth Ltd, that specialise in mentoring young girls and women from the age of four up until twenty-five years old. Academically Kasharel holds a BA (HONS) in English, QTLS in Teaching, AVA Assessors Award, Level 3 in Education and Training, Diploma in Work Skills and Employability, Qualified Nursery Practitioner, Qualified Carer, First Aider and Designated Safeguarding lead. Kasharel continues to update her continual professional development with certifications in Child Protection, Safeguarding, Knife Crime, The Prevent Duty, Child Neglect, Bereavement and Loss, Data Protection, FGM, Equality and Diversity, Mental Wellbeing, Peer on Peer Abuse, SEND Code of Practice, Online Safety, Prevention of Bullying, CSE, Domestic abuse in children and Young People, Safer Recruitment, Child Trafficking and Serious Youth Violence to name a few. Kasharel has over 23 years’ experience working within Education Institutions and the Education Sector with children, young people, and adults from the age of 12 months right up 40+ years old. Kasharel has been the Head of an English Department and Curriculum Lead within a Birmingham inner-city Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) with challenging youths and personally has been responsible for raising the English GCSE Grades by 42% and a 100% pass rate of English Functional Skills while teaching within this school. Being the Head of Provision in Stoke-on-Trent Kasharel has helped to educate and guide challenging, vulnerable young people to access Education as well as mentor them and offer support to families within the school that needed extra support, by liaising with outside agencies when needed to create an open communication channel to create a school community.

Founder and Director of Outreach

Nadia Mughal

Nadia, founder of Mind Our Mentalities, is a youth worker, teacher, parent, mentor, educator, coach and creative, who is able to use her professional knowledge combined with her lived experience of mental health conditions to support young people and families to develop strong, supportive relationships that can enhance their emotional and spiritual well-being. The majority of her work has been spent engaging with young people in hard-to-reach communities, breaking down barriers and improving aspirations. She also works extensively in the education system supporting young people with social, emotional, and behavioural differences. Nadia holds a Degree in Community, Play and Youth Studies, a PGCE in Post- Compulsory Education (Social Sciences specialism) and is currently a student of a Master’s in Education and an Instructor member of MHFA England.