Our people
PDC is an agile, networked organisation. We work digitally and in person, with projects and people across Europe and beyond. The core team is led by Dr. Dan Moxon who co-ordinates the work of the organisation.
Our associates are all active in other roles within the sector, all with outstanding reputations in their own right. They collaborate with People Dialogue and change as well as taking on work independently within the sector, and in some cases also holding permanent roles in other organisations.
This approach ensures people working with us have the highest level of expertise and are connected to the latest sector developments and thinking. Our network is able to mobilise a flexible team with a world leading volume of experience.
Dr Dan Moxon (he/him) - Director
Dan is a researcher and practitioner specialising in inclusive youth participation with over 20 years' experience working with children and young people. His work focuses on how children and young people's participation can influence policy, as well as the development of participatory structures and processes. Originally a youth worker at local and regional level in England, he now works throughout Europe and beyond supporting a variety of organisations, to develop their approach to youth participation. In 2017 he was invited to re-develop the consultation process behind the EU’s Youth Dialogue. This engaged nearly 50,000 young people and was instrumental in developing the European Youth Goals.
Ondřej Bárta (he/him) - Senior Associate
Ondřej is a youth researcher whose assignments on both national and international level span from volunteering, through youth projects within the EU programmes, to youth participation. He also conducts evaluation on both national and international levels, focusing mostly on the macro level (youth policy), and on the micro level (single project evaluation). He has been long engaged within the RAY Research Network, and appears regularly on various research conferences where he tackles youth-related research findings.
Adina Marina Șerban, (PhD) (she/her) - Associate
PhD in Political Sciences (Comparative European Youth Policies in Romania and Turkey), with extended expertise in grass roots youth work and youth work methodologies and practices, youth participation methodologies and inclusion policies. MA in Comparative European Social Studies (MACESS) at London Metropolitan University, holding a BA in Political Sciences and one in Social Work – University of Bucharest. In 2020, served as the Chief of Staff of the State Secretary in the Field of Youth at the Ministry of Youth and Sport. Member of the Pool of European Youth Researcher and of the European Knowledge Centre on Youth Policies – national correspondent (Romania).
Corina Pîrvulescu (she/her)- Associate
Corina is a professional and activist in the youth sector, dedicated to shaping communities where young people are fully empowered to participate as equal partners decision-making and have the opportunity to reach their full potential. She has vast experience in working with a complexity of public policies and program management in the youth sector, from local to international level. Over the past 14 years, she has volunteered and worked with very diverse youth-led and youth-focused organisations: from local and national youth councils in Romania to European and international youth networks. In advancing her passion for youth participation, Corina is a co-founder of the Think-Tank & Resource Centre ‘Social DOers’ and an IREX Fellow (US Dept. State funded) since 2015, when she worked with Chicago Votes on voter registration and education of young people.
Cristina Bacalso (she/her)- Associate
Cristina is a research consultant with a specialisation in public policies for adolescent and youth development. She has over 14 years of experience in policy and advocacy for young people, and her roles include Adolescent and Youth Consultant for UNICEF Europe and Central Asia Office, Adolescent Evidence Synthesis and Policy Advisor for UNICEF. Innocenti, and Research Coordinator for Youth Policy Labs, a global think-tank specifically focusing on youth. She was the project and research lead for "Age Matters", a multi-year, multi-country study on minimum age legislation, which was selected as one of the top 10 projects for the Best of UNICEF Research Award 2019.
Liz Harding (she/her) - Associate
Liz is the former CEO Youth Focus NW where she worked for 16 years leading it from an unincorporated association into a leading youth voice charity Elizabeth retains a passion for youth work and in particular Youth Voice. She was instrumental in the setting up the Greater Manchester Youth Combined Authority with young people to ensure their voices are heard. She sought to improve health care for young people through their engagement with the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership and sat on the Children’s Health and Wellbeing Executive Board. Always innovating Elizabeth played a major role in the development of Youthforia, the youth led North West Youth Forum. Elizabeth is a visiting fellow at Edge Hill University.
Neringa Tumėnaitė (she/her) - Associate
Neringa is a Lithuanian Human Rights educator and an expert of Youth, Peace and Development. She is currently pursuing PhD at SOAS, University of London, where her research focuses on the role of Media literacy in advancing peace-building in Myanmar; and youth participation in the decision making within the Euro-Mediterranean partnership. Neringa has led several forums in Asia, MENA and Eastern Africa, bringing together CSOs, entrepreneurs, activists and institutions (EU, AUC, UfM, ASEAN, Ministries) to facilitate youth-led policy recommendations,( e.g. “Building Youth Partnership Opportunities to Advance UN Sustainable Development Goals for Education, Peace & Innovation.”) Neringa has previously served at the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe, where her work focused on advancing Minority Rights, Roma youth participation, and North- South cooperation; and she is currently a member of the Pool of European Youth Researchers at the EU-CoE Youth Partnership.
Salome Dolidze (she/her)- Associate
Salome has over 6 years experience in the research field. She holds an MA in Sociology. Her research activities are focused on youth research and organisational development issues. She has designed, led and participated in over 20 research projects. Moreover, she has substantial work experience in both public and non-governmental organisations. Salome has experience in public policy planning and implementation, as well as in development and analytical work, monitoring and evaluation, stakeholder engagement, development and implementation of joint projects with local and international organisations.
Akshit Jain (he/him) - Associate
Akshit is passionate about nurturing and sustaining volunteering energy in different ecosystems and spaces through lean systems, inspiring storytelling, co-created innovations and learning together. He has an experience of over 6 years in the social development space. #ToInfinityAndBeyond. Akshit build data driven visual interactive dashboards that enable advocacy, impact assessment and strategic decision making. He support institutions in setting up a process and system for data collection, aggregation, analysis and reporting and has have created such dashboards for various national level ecosystems and social programs. Akshit believes in youth centric development and technology driven innovations as a means for social change. He aims to balance integrity and passion in a journey of excellence.
Clara Drammeh (she/her) - Associate
Clara is a youth sector professional committed to global peace, international cooperation at eye level and a sustainable and just world. Clara is a young black European committed to a Europe that is colourful and diverse. She places emphasis on the importance of plurality and representation in dialogue and on stage. She has a profile at European level acting as a trainer for the European Youth Forum and the EU Youth Dialogue, as well as being active in the scout movement.
Ed Moss (he/him) - Associate
Ed has over 10 years experience working across the public, charity, co-operative and private sectors developing the way organisations work with people to deliver results and make a bigger impact for stakeholders. Ed also lives on a narrowboat and travels around Greater Manchester, giving a different view every week and the flexibility to choose where to be. Ed works with People Dialogue and Change providing facilitation and training support, particularly around our work with the patient advocacy community.
Dave Packwood (he/him) - Associate
Dave has been involved in working with children and young people for the last 25 years, working within high performing youth services and voluntary sector youth organisations. Dave left full time employment as Chief Executive of Youth Federation a regional Youth Association and registered charity after 11 very successful years, to set up Dave Packwood Consulting. This followed his development of Youth Federation from a small charity employing 4 staff and a turnover of £110,000 to a well respected and high profile regional organisation employing 36 staff and a turnover of over £1.2 Million. Dave also completed secondments within Cheshire, Youth Service, Government Office North West and as an Additional Youth Work Inspector for OFSTED undertaking 6 Enhanced Youth Inspections and Joint Area Reviews and has qualifications in Youth Work and a Masters degree in Management.
Mark Bailey (he/him) - Associate
Mark is a full time qualified Youth Worker with experience in many fields of Youth Work and Social Care. A former Children's Rights Service local authority manager within the UK, with extensive experience of advocating for cared for and care experienced young people. Mark is an expert, trainer, and advocate for children and young people's participation. He is also a work environment assessor specialising in Youth Work qualifications.