Staff Team

Ruth joined the Big Lottery Fund in 2013, from a career in the civil service, to establish Spirit of 2012, and stayed until it closed in January 2026. Ruth was Chief Executive of Spirit of 2012 since 2019, previously she was Spirit’s Director of Policy and Impact. Ruth led the organisation to deliver a diverse programme of grant funded projects with a strong focus on measuring and sharing the social impact of their work. She has championed the strategic use of events as a way to deliver social outcomes for people across the UK. She was awarded an OBE in the 2025 New Years Honours List in recognition of her services to sport, to the arts and volunteering. “Spirit used events, like Glasgow 2014, Hull 2017 and the Centenary of Women’s Suffrage, as catalysts for social change – building on the way events bring people together and foster connection, pride, hope and optimism. I am passionate about the power of sport, arts and culture, and volunteering to improve wellbeing and really change lives both for communities and individuals, and how events can be better used as a strategic policy intervention for social good.”

As Director of Policy and Impact, Amy led Spirit of 2012’s work to maximise the social impact of events, both across our own funding and research portfolios and beyond. Across her tenure she oversaw the organisation’s programmes, insight and evaluation work, and led policy and influencing activity to strengthen the sector’s understanding of what drives social impact. She joined Spirit in 2017 as Head of Impact & Learning, supporting grantees across the cultural, sporting and community sectors to grow the evidence base for how participatory projects can improve wellbeing, inclusion and social cohesion. Amy has an MSc in Inequalities and Social Science from LSE.

Alex joined Spirit in September 2020. Previously, he worked for graduate recruitment start-up Debut as a content marketer and Imperial War Museums as a communications intern. In between, he is a freelance journalist who writes for outlets including VICE, Noisey, London In Stereo, Journo Resources and Huck Magazine. In his current role, Alex supports the planning and delivery of internal and external communications, as well as managing Spirit’s social media channels and website. He is an avid supporter of the arts and believes strongly in their ability to positively affect wellbeing.

Gaetano has worked at Spirit of 2012 since June 2019, first as a Communications Intern, then as a Grant & Learning Officer before adding policy to his remit. “I feel very lucky to have started my career at Spirit of 2012, and to be a part of such a passionate and supportive team. Working at Spirit has instilled in me a curiosity to explore different approaches to funding and to really dig into what works, with a portfolio of truly inspiring projects.”

Katie initially joined Spirit of 2012 as Grants and Policy Manager in 2022, with her role having a specific focus on volunteering and inclusion policy. Katie was responsible for overseeing grant holder engagement and organised Spirit’s annual grantee event along with a series of online learning sessions. She co-authored the Spirit report ‘Making Events Work for Everyone’ and led on organising ‘The Foundations of Event Volunteering’, which brought together practitioners, policy makers and funders to discuss the future of event volunteering. Katie continued to work for Spirit until November 2025 as part of the closure team, managing a national portfolio of grants to completion. She began her career in the public sector, supporting academic research in the arts and humanities, before moving into the third sector. Katie has experience of coordinating and developing multidisciplinary funding programmes and is passionate about supporting civil society groups and individuals to make positive change.