Our people
Lily Owens-Crossman
Senior Researcher, Institute for Community Studies
Lily is passionate about engaging communities in research to drive social change and exploring the most effective and valuable ways to do so from participant perspectives. Her background is in research focused on migration and children and young people, and she has an MRes in Global Migrations and Social Justice.
Emma Newbury
Head of Participatory Research
Emma’s expertise is in designing, leading and implementing participatory research to drive understanding of social justice. She has worked internationally with governments, institutions and charities.
Jack Layton
Senior Researcher
Jack is passionate about making our towns and cities better places to live. As part of the team at the Institute for Community Studies, he works to ensure people’s voices across the country are heard and their needs prioritised.
Rachael McNiven
Interim Communications and Design Officer
Rachael delivers creative design solutions, impactful visual communications, multimedia, and social media content. Passionate about supporting organisations working towards social justice, sustainability, and better-connected communities, she has worked for a variety of charities, not-for-profits and academic clients.
Cristina Wilkinson Salamea
Senior Research Manager
Cristina is a mixed-methods social researcher with an MSc in sociology from the University of Edinburgh. She has more than seven years’ experience working in research and evaluation in agency, charity and academic settings.
Adira Andlay
Senior Researcher
With a specialisation in co-design and citizen engagement, Adira leads a range of mixed-method research projects, from community-led social innovation to supporting peer research training. She has a multidisciplinary background in design research, social innovation and visual communication.
David Heinemann
Civic Leadership Programme Lead
David’s role is to discover and develop civic leaders working to improve the health of our society. He has a background in personal and organisational development, supporting pioneering changemakers and organisations in the UK and internationally for more than 15 years.
Gary Fawdrey
Innovation Practitioner
Gary joined The Young Foundation in 2023, having previously supported social innovators and designed innovation funding programmes through roles with Elrha’s Humanitarian Innovation Fund and Nesta’s Challenge Works. As an Innovation Practitioner Gary works across the Young Foundation’s social innovation portfolio.
Rosema Nawaz
Project Coordinator
Rosema joined The Young Foundation as a Project Coordinator in 2023. Previously, she worked within the Mental Health sector in Bradford, to improve accessibility of Mental Health Services using Artificial Intelligence.
Leonie Taylor
Research Officer
Leonie joined The Young Foundation in 2023, and is passionate about using ethical research to address health inequalities. She is a social researcher with a background in migration studies and gender equity. Leonie’s international experience in Sierra Leone and Greece informs her research design.
Jasper Morvaridi
Innovation Practitioner
Jasper joined The Young Foundation in 2023 after 10 years managing and producing projects across the creative industries. As part of our Innovation and Practice team, he supports the development and delivery of ambitious and fast-paced social innovation programmes
Elizabeth Adeyemo
Interim HR Manager
Elizabeth is an HR professional with experience in sectors including finance, education, and health. She is particularly passionate about The Young Foundation’s role in community research, engagement, and inclusion.