Kirsten Verdel is a partner at Publyon, where she has been working since 2009. She specialises in both public affairs and setting up campaign, communication and media strategies. She also provides training and coaching in the field of public affairs and media.
Kirsten is a member of Publyon’s Sustainability team and sees the societal transitions in energy, digitalisation and decentralisation as unique opportunities to make an impact. The challenges are immense and ask a lot in terms of change from both established organisations and new initiatives. Kirsten is happy to help clients achieve a strong societal positioning and doesn’t give up easily. Her motto is: ‘It’s better to strive for the impossible than to settle for what is achievable’.
Kirsten studied Public Administration at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Later, she took additional courses in Japan, China, and Canada. She also took the Art & Practice of Leadership Development course at Harvard. In 2007, she won the Canadian Sauvé Scholarship.
Kirsten started her professional career in 1999 at XS4ALL, even before her studies. She subsequently worked as a policy advisor at the Ministry of the Interior, among other positions. In 2008, she was a staff member for Barack Obama in his campaign for the 2008 US presidential elections. She wrote the book ‘From Rotterdam to the White House’ about this experience. She also wrote columns for publications such as Vrij Nederland and Het Financieele Dagblad.
In 2020, Kirsten won the Audience Award at the Communication Man/Woman of the Year Elections. Beyond Publyon, she is also a co-founder of Freedom Internet and can often be seen and heard as a commentator and political analyst on Radio 1 and television shows such as Op1.