Jeannet Kiessling

VP - Europe; VP - Heidelberg, Germany

Jeannet Susann Kiessling, Ph.D., is the VP of the European Sister City Committee and VP of Palo Alto's German Sister City Heidelberg, her hometown.

Jeannet came to Palo Alto in 2016 with her husband Thomas and her three children. Previously, she worked as the political advisor to the German Defense Minister and was Head of the Foreign and Security Policy Department of Germany’s governing political party under Chancellor Helmut Kohl.

Jeannet has worked as a speechwriter for several high-profile CEOs and politicians and was the VP of Corporate Communications at Bertelsmann, Europe’s largest media company. Her pro bono work includes leading kleine Herzen Deutschland e.V., an organization helping orphans and street children in Russia and Ukraine for more than 10 years.

Jeannet helped start the Neighbors Abroad Ukrainian Emergency Children's Relief Fund, the Leendert Overduin Civil Essay Contest and also headed the committee that implemented Neighbors Abroad's inaugural International Festival (Summer 2022).