Nikki DiGiovanni is Reusegirl, Peterborough Poet Laureat (Winning Poem), CIWM Environmental Excellence Community Recycling Champion 2011 Finalist and a regular BBC radio contributor.

Nikki has been on regional and national TV for her work and has had her work on "Building Empowerment not Empires" internationally recognised.

She is also the National Coordinator for ScrapstoresUK a national charity, a director of Social Enterprise Norfolk and is a Co-Founder of DISE Diversity in Social Enterprise.

But before all that Nikki was born in and spent her formative years in South Africa before moving to the UK which left her stunned to discover the western approach of simply binning and landfilling the things they didn't want anymore.

Arriving in 1985 with little more than a suitcase of clothes meant that Nikki's family soon made use of charity and community reuse schemes which spawned a passion and commitment that continues to this day. As with so many entrepreneurs her indomitable enterprising spirit began in childhood; something she attests to an innate "African Resourcefulness". Her approach and the thing many people admire is her positivity and enthusiasm as well as the way she can sense and seize opportunities out of seemingly negative situations.

Having started her first reuse projects in childhood her projects and passion have expanded from that first suitcase and permeated all her paid and voluntary roles in the following decades. Nikki has continually campaigned to have recycling and environmental conscientiousness taken on by her successive employers from recycling of paper and computers to travelling Europe and Scandinavia selling environmentally friendly detergents that minimised packaging waste.

Becoming a mother further impassioned her to expand her mission to include the creation of social enterprises that have addressed broader social issues such as children, health, diversity and anti poverty initiatives. Having been fortunate enough to find love, acceptance and success through her work she now spends much of her time sharing her enterprising approach by inspiring and supporting others to fulfil their potential.

Previously Nikki has worked as Programme Manager for CCORRN the Social Enterprise who developed Choose2Reuse and Macro Coaching Programmes for 5 years before which she was involved in the childcare sector and co founded several social enterprises.