After a degree in History at The University of London, Penny began her public service career in in Tower Hamlets in the 70s, qualifying in 1979 with a Masters in Social Work from the University of Kent. She spent a decade on the frontline, moving from London to Sheffield in 1981. Penny moved into management and leadership in Cleveland in 1987.
Penny returned to Sheffield as Director of Social Services in 1998 where she played a key leadership and improvement role for Social Services and the Council as a whole. Sheffield achieved an Excellent rating and Council of the Year in 2004. In January 2005 Penny became CEO of LB of Hackney and subsequently took her experience of improvement into a number of other CEO roles at NHS Haringey, GSCC the Social Work regulator, and finally, Brighton & Hove in 2012, stepping down in 2015.
Since then, Penny has continued to contribute to public services as a Leadership Consultant with assignments including: Independent Chair of Birmingham's Safeguarding Children Partnership since 2016; being a Leadership Mentor, and a Trustee. Penny has been a Governor on the Board of Sheffield Hallam University since April 2017 and became a Trustee of Barnardo’s in 2019.