Barbara is from Vienna/Austria and has been working for the European Commission for over 20 years in different policy areas currently at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC), in the Cultural Policy Unit.

Her field of work is cultural policy making, in particular the crossroads of cultural and creative sectors/ industries/spaces and how to contribute in terms of city and regional development, social inclusion, job creation, participation, linking up creative sectors and policy-makers, creative hubs and cultural and creative spaces. She also works on cultural and creative industries, innovation and finance and participatory approaches.