Nicola co-founded Social Life with Saffron Woodcraft in early 2012, and in the last ten years has grown Social Life's work on place-based innovation and social sustainability.
Nicola advises central and local governments, foundations and third sector agencies in the UK and internationally, with a focus on innovation, and embedding fresh approaches to public policy and service delivery to tackle inequality and disadvantage.
Until July 2012, Nicola was the Young Foundation's Director of Local and Advisory Projects. She was responsible for the Young Foundation's work with local authorities and other partner agencies on local social innovation, setting up major programmes on communities, wellbeing and resilience, and preventative investment. Nicola developed the Young Foundation's advisory work portfolio, taking this breadth of experience into her current work at Social Life.
Before joining the Young Foundation, Nicola worked at the Home Office where she was a Deputy Director of the Anti-social Behaviour Unit and was Director of Safe in the City, an award winning action research programme set up to pilot new ways of preventing youth homelessness in London by working with young people and their families. She was also Director of Policy at Shelter.
Nicola is a Young Foundation Fellow, a Design Council Expert, a High Streets Task Force Expert, a member of the Design South East Expert Panel, an Associate of the Quality of Life Foundation and a mentor for Bethnal Green Ventures.
