Our people

The Social Inclusion team are our subject matter experts in social inclusion issues. The team provide advice, guidance, consultation, and coaching to departments and business units across the University to ensure that social inclusion is embedded in all of Warwick’s work.

Find more information about the team below. For general queries please email .

Meet the Social Inclusion team:

Kulbir Shergill

Director of Social Inclusion

I am a board level cultural change and business transformation professional, driven by Inclusion and People oriented strategies. My skills lie in being able to use my cross-sector experience of working in large complex businesses, customer focussed public service entities to optimise the impact of strategies that I lead. Here at Warwick, I am leading the development and implementation of the Social Inclusion strategy, along with the Social Inclusion team, working in partnership with stakeholders across the university and with external partners to increase diversity of our community and develop an inclusive culture. My areas of focus include developing inclusive leadership skills and engagement, the development of the INspire programme, and working closely with colleagues to develop the Inclusive Education Model for inclusive student and staff experience.

You can contact me at .

Emma Cann

Head of Social Inclusion

I am passionate about creating working environments where everybody belongs and is supported to thrive and I’m excited to be bringing my experience to Warwick to help drive the Social Inclusion Strategy. My main focus is on embedding a psychologically safe and inclusive culture through training and discussion and helping dismantle barriers for under-represented or minority groups through inclusive practices and processes. I believe the responsibility for inclusion sits with every one of us and am looking forward to working with the social inclusion team and university stakeholders to support us all to make the University of Warwick inclusive for everyone.

You can contact me at .

Andy Johnson

Social Inclusion Manager

I am a project manager with over 20 years’ experience in Widening Participation and Social Inclusion working to break down barriers within higher education. I believe that an individual’s background should have no profound impact on their ability to access, be part of, and succeed within university and have spent my career working to address this. My skills lie in pathfinding for new projects and approaches to inclusion, networking, collaborating widely, building strong professional relationships, and delivering high-quality engagement programmes with diverse audiences. Here at Warwick, my focus is to increase community diversity and build an inclusive culture, across all stages of the university lifecycle, by enhancing equality of opportunity and outcomes for everyone. I’m leading on a biennial staff-wide survey to assess the sense of belonging and culture here at Warwick, and working closely with colleagues to enhance gender equality, address challenges and remove barriers for staff and students.

You can contact me at .

Claire Algar

Social Inclusion Manager

I regard myself as an accomplished individual who has the ability to independently manage and co-ordinate large scale projects, events, and champion cultural change. My strengths lie in having strong interpersonal skills, building trust-based relationships, engaging internal and external stakeholders to increase diversity, and create an environment where people feel a sense of belonging.

Here at Warwick, I lead on a number of inclusive recruitment initiatives that align with our aims to remove social, cultural and economic barriers that have prevented people from working, succeeding and studying. This includes, leading on the corporate partnership with the EY Foundation to deliver employability programmes to young people from low socio-economic backgrounds. I also lead on the social Inclusion Internship Programme, established as a result of this partnership. Piloting recruitment initiatives to engage with prison leavers, veterans, and other groups who may have been out of employment for various reasons.

You can contact me at .

Congratulations, Claire - Winner of the 2022 EY Foundation 'Volunteer of the Year' award!

Kat Grover

Social Inclusion Manager

I've been working in higher education since 2014 and joined Warwick as a Social Inclusion Manager in 2025. I'm passionate about making every aspect of universities fair, equitable, and open to everyone. Over the years, I’ve gained experience at department, faculty, and university levels, which has given me an understanding of how essential it is that people and processes work together smoothly across teams and areas. I believe this works best when the culture and principles are inclusive to all. I pride myself in taking a logical and collaborative approach to solving problems and aim to be a friendly and supportive colleague, so please reach out if you’d like to work together.

You can contact me at .

Michaela Hodges

Social Inclusion Manager

I have been passionate about equality and social justice since childhood, and achieving these goals has been the focus of my career. I worked in communications, strategy, and project management roles in environmental, domestic abuse, homelessness, and equality charities before moving to social inclusion in higher education.

In my personal life, I start each morning reading to expand my equality knowledge (email me if you want recommendations!). In my work life, I am currently working on our updated Adjustments process, Equality Impact Assessments, University of Sanctuary (supporting refugee and asylum seeker students), the Social Inclusion website, and supporting with social inclusion data.

You can contact me at .

Nick Barker

Schools Outreach Fellow in Residence

I worked in state secondary schools for 12 years before being awarded a Teacher Fellowship by the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2008. I came to Warwick University and worked in the Chemistry Department for 10 years where I delivered a successful schools' outreach programme. I moved to the Social Inclusion Group in 2018 and continue to deliver science outreach work with many schools all over the region but I am now based in a primary school. This year, with a lot of help, I hope to coordinate a scientific thinking challenge to inspire and encourage Year 10 students from schools all over the country.

You can contact me at .

Congratulations, Nick - Winner of the October 2023 'Warwick Wonder' award!

Lorraine Martin

PA to Director of Social Inclusion and Team Administrator

I joined Warwick University in 2021 as Personal Assistant to the Director of Social Inclusion. I really enjoy working at the University, specialising in Social Inclusion. With a deep commitment to fostering equitable opportunities, I excel in managing the logistics of various talent programmes. Among these, I take particular pride in the successful ongoing development of the INspire Leaders programme, which aims to empower leaders from diverse backgrounds. Known for my meticulous attention to detail and a passion for social justice I will continue to make a significant impact in the realm of social inclusion at Warwick.

You can contact me at or .

Congratulations, Lorraine - Finalist for the 2024 West Midlands PA Awards 'CSR & EDI Champion' award!

SISC

The Social Inclusion Strategy Committee provides oversight, guidance, and direction on matters pertaining to social inclusion strategy, policy, procedure and practice across the University. The Group’s primary focus is on monitoring equality, diversity, and inclusion objectives, policies, practices, and initiatives throughout the University.

The Social Inclusion Strategy Committee is chaired by the Registrar and reports to the University Executive Board.

Taskforces

The Social Inclusion committee has been supported by the contributions of our specialised Social Inclusion Taskforces:

Our Dignity Principles set out our expectations of how we behave as a community.

These principles facilitate an environment with the ability to voice ideas at its core, a place in which staff and students operate with mutual respect, with the confidence that equality of opportunity is accessible to all. These principles underpin our desire to give students and staff the best experience possible whilst studying and working here.