Nicola co-founded Social Life in early 2012, and in the last ten years has grown Social Life’s work on place-based innovation and social sustainability. All of Social Life’s work is about the relationship between people and places. Their work is about understanding how peoples’ day-to-day experience of local places is shaped by the built environment – housing, public spaces, parks and local high streets – and how change, through regeneration, new development or small improvements to public spaces, affects the social fabric, opportunities and wellbeing of local areas.
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.
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. She was also Director of Policy at Shelter.
Nicola is a Young Foundation Fellow, a Design Council Expert, a High Streets Task Force Expert, an Associate of the Quality of Life Foundation and a mentor for Bethnal Green Ventures.