The City of West Bend on April 9, 2025 announced that former newspaper reporter Kali Thiel has been hired as its next communications director, according to a story in the April 17, 2025 issue of the West Bend Daily News.
Thiel has nearly two decades of experience in communications, journalism and marketing, with her most recent role being the director of university communications for Concordia University from 2015-25. During her tenure at Concordia, Thiel served as editor and lead author of the school’s alumni and stakeholder magazine, earning a Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) award in 2019.
Before her time at Concordia University, Thiel worked as a reporter with Gannett Media, covering school and city government, earning a first-place award in the Wisconsin Newspaper Association (WNA) Foundation Better Newspaper Contest.
Her duties include supervising West Bend Community Television, Visit West Bend (both tourism promotion and development), and both internal and external communication strategies for the city.
Thiel may be reached via email at comm@westbendwi.gov.
