Meet The Team
Introducing the passionate and dedicated team of ten individuals who make up the United by 2022 Legacy Charity. As the official charity of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, our team is driven by the desire to create a lasting positive impact on the lives of the people in our community.
Together, we strive to continue the legacy of the Games, fostering inclusivity, well-being, and social change for all.
Following a successful run as Director of Legacy for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Nicola Turner MBE now heads the official Games legacy charity, United By 2022, as Executive Director.
The Games changed perceptions of Birmingham and its people, driving forward a bold and inclusive vision to be the Games for Everyone. Birmingham 2022 advanced inclusion and sustainability in major events, united people and partners in the West Midlands and catalysed local benefits that have reached people and organisations that don’t usually feel included. United By 2022 will keep this going and continue successful Games initiatives which are making a measurable difference in underserved places. Bring the Power, Gen22, Critical Mass, Volunteering and Social Value all aim to improve physical activity and wellbeing, civic pride and community cohesion.
Before joining the Games Nicola spent five years leading national change programmes, she led the introduction of Degree Apprenticeships in England and created a £40m public-private partnership called the Institute of Coding to reduce the tech skills gap. For twelve years she worked at Aston University where she was Strategic Director of Employability and Business Partnerships, winning industry awards and leading the sector in access and participation and employability. Nicola received an MBE in 2015 for services to the West Midlands supporting young people into work and SME growth. She lives in Solihull with her family.
Camila is an adopted brummie who came to Birmingham to study and never left. She worked on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as part of the Legacy Team for over two years and is now our Governance and Operations Manager. She’s our culture vulture and one of our resident bakers!
Adam is Black Country born and bred and since completing his Sports Science degree at the University of Worcester in 2011, has worked in Birmingham in a wide range of sport and youth sector positions.
He worked on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games in the Youth Programme as the Community Youth Manager, before transitioning to United By 2022 as the Youth Programme Project Lead, heading up Bring The Power & Gen22 delivery.
Adam is obsessed with music, football (particularly the mighty Wolverhampton Wanderers) and cooking (and eating!) Asian cuisine!
Nicole originally moved to Birmingham with work and still after several secondments abroad kept coming back. She worked on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as part of the Finance Team and is now our Financial Accountant.
Born and raised in the Black Country, Ravina is our Operations and Business Development Officer.
As part of the Legacy Team at Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, she helped grow Gen22, now one of the Charity’s Trailblazer programmes.
Ravina is our resident event specialist and leads the charge on both Charity events and UB22 team building activities!
Francesca is our Project Officer working on the youth programmes, Gen22 & Bring The Power. Like many of the team, Francesca also worked on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games with the Youth Programme and Festival teams. In her free time, she enjoys baking, gymnastics, and spending time with her two cats.
Shekhar is a highly accomplished Sport Management graduate and former professional athlete, with extensive experience in workforce and volunteer management, systems implementation and configuration, and events coordination.
With notable contributions to events like the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and London Marathon, Shekhar currently holds the position of Volunteering and Event Systems Manager at the charity.
Fun fact- Shekhar, a tech-savvy wizard, also holds certifications as a strength and conditioning specialist, rehab specialist, and sports and exercise nutritionist. In an exciting twist, he has even trained an Olympian athlete!
Helen is originally from the West Midlands and after 20 years living abroad was drawn back to the region.
Having worked in marketing for international organisations and start-ups, Helen decided to change direction and joined the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Legacy team in 2021. A proud member of the Commonwealth Collective, it now seems fitting that Helen leads on engagement for the Volunteers Collective at United By 2022.
Helen is always up for a sporting challenge and is currently training for her first Olympic distance triathlon.
Born in Zimbabwe moved to the UK aged 4, Lerato is all about culture, food, dance and being authentically yourself! She joined the Legacy team late 2022 and has been able to carry on the learnings of EDI within the Commonwealth Games. Now she leads on EDI within the Legacy Charity and works as part of the Outreach and Impacts team to continue to reaching communities and who knows, maybe get the region up and dancing!