Board of Directors

Born in New York, raised in Southern California, David is fluent in Spanish, German, English and Portuguese and conversant in Italian and French. He holds a degree in physics from the Claremont Colleges. For the past 20 years he has worked in the area of international business development and communications.

Petra has been living in Silicon Valley since 1981 and has 25 + years of business experience in the US, Europe and Asia. A pioneer in the mobile industry, she is one of the first women globally to co- found a mobile company in 2005 and under her leadership, Smaato has become one of the largest mobile companies in the world.

Silke Kellner was born and raised in the near of Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony/Germany. She is tax consultant and partner of a tax law firm in northern Germany and holds a Master’s Degree in International Taxation from the University of Hamburg. Silke advises national and international clients in German and international tax law. She spends her free time reading books about international affairs and history, as well as learning languages and travelling.

Born in Kiel, Germany Nils has lived in both Germany and the US and built up businesses and organizations in Europe, North America and Asia. He is a true „digital native“, based upon a former career in Journalism. Nils worked in the field of digital monetization, be it to generate revenue through advertising or electronic payments. Since health put a (temporary?) end to his career, higher priority goes to his family, baking, his passion of crafting American foods on a Texas size smoker and brewing beer as well as his chickens. And to the American Club, of course.

Niels Petersen is a college Professor at the paramedic college of the Hamburg Fire Department. His affiliations to the US were not only job related but he took many trips to especially Southern California to exchange with the EMS providers there and make new friends. He’s married with two daughters living in rural Stormarn County.

Antonia moved to Hamburg in 2019, simply because she fell in love with the city. A Northern California native, she has a BA in History an MFA in Costume Design. During her 12 years living in New York City, she had success in two different careers: as an award-nominated costume designer and then a senior project manager in finance (a very American career path!). She is currently the Chief of Staff of a travel startup. Her diverse experience gives her a unique perspective on building resilient relationships and processes, which is why she was so eager to join the board of the American Club. In her free time, she enjoys taking her dog on nature adventures and attending cultural events.

Lindsey was born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota where she graduated with a degree in Microbiology. Eager to learn, she moved to Berlin in 2013 for a Master’s degree in Polymer Science. Realizing the opportunities Hamburg has to offer, she started a PhD in Chemistry at UHH with the Max Planck Institute for the Structure of Dynamics of Matter. She is a former Max Planck PhDnet Spokesperson for over 5,000 doctoral researchers across Germany. When she’s not intersecting Biology, Chemistry and Physics she’s finding ways to connect people and ideas together.

Michael is attorney in his own law-firm since 1986, Kanzlei im Borselhof. He is specialized in trade law, IP law and labor law. He has a lot of experience with Clubs of different sizes - Michael was for instance in the Supervisory Board of FC St. Pauli for several years. Hamburger Abendblatt called him "Der Anwalt, dem die Rockstars vertrauen" for his work in the music industry.