A Conversation between San Antonio and Darmstadt

First elected in 2017, Ron Nirenberg is in his second term as the mayor of San Antonio, one of the nation’s fastest growing cities in the United States. Prior to becoming mayor, he served on the San Antonio City Council beginning in 2013. Mayor Nirenberg has focused his public service on smart city and regional planning, inclusive economic development, environmental stewardship, as well as fiscal responsibility and governmental accountability. He is a member of the Climate Mayors Steering Committee, a group of 24 mayors who will serve as a leading voice in efforts to further climate action in the more than 400 cities across the U.S. and serves as the Chairman of Sister Cities International. Prior to his public service, Mayor Nirenberg was the founder of two small-businesses, worked as the general manager of KRTU-FM radio in San Antonio, and as a program director for the Annenberg Public Policy Center. He graduated summa cum laude from Trinity University and received a Master’s Degree in Communication magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania.

Jochen Partsch has been Lord Mayor of Darmstadt since 2011 and is a member of Alliance ’90/The Greens. After winning a “Digital City” competition in 2017, his administration has focused on implementing digital smart city technologies to build an urban digital ecosystem with tangible benefits for citizens together with the city’s partners from science, politics and business. Prior to his election as Lord Mayor, Mr. Partsch served on Darmstadt’s City Council beginning in 1997, was the parliamentary party leader from 2003 to 2006, and led Darmstadt’s Department for Social Affairs, Youth, Housing, Labor Market Policy, Women’s Policy, and Intercultural Affairs from 2006 until 2011.  Outside of politics,  he has worked as a consultant and lecturer at the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences focusing on community-oriented employment promotion in economically-disadvantaged regions. He graduated with a degree in Economics from the Georg-August-University of Göttingen.