Party: The Conservative People’s Party (Det Konservative Folkeparti)
Candidate for: City council: Lolland Municipality
On the quiet island of Lolland, an American expatriate is making a strong mark in local politics. Candice Progler-Thomsen is a global education and mobility expert with extensive experience helping internationals navigate the complexities of Danish integration. She is running for city council with the mission to create a supportive ecosystem for the benefit of internationals and Danes alike.
From being an exchange student to being a community leader
Candice built her relationship with Denmark as a Rotary exchange student at the age of 16 in Jutland. She recalls, “I lived with three Danish families and went to a Danish high school for 1 year. This experience opened my eyes to the concept of moving to another country, living with locals, attending a local school, and embracing another culture with a different language and lifestyle. All these aspects helped me immerse myself, which was transformative.” This early seed of Danish culture that was planted would eventually bring Candice back to Denmark, permanently.
After returning to Denmark in 2008 to work at Copenhagen Business School, with a career in university internationalization in the US, Candice became well-versed in the complexities of international mobility. In her professional and volunteer work, Candice is involved in relocation and repatriation to Denmark, as well as global education and career opportunities in and outside of Denmark. She coaches and helps Danes and internationals through the research, decision-making, and transition processes so they can make informed decisions and thrive in their next chapter in Denmark orabroad
Four and a half years ago, Candice and her Danish-American family moved to Lolland, one of Denmark’s most rural and economically challenged regions. She saw opportunity where others saw decline. “We moved here in 2021, after learning about Lolland International School (LIS),” Candice says. As a Danish-American family with bilingual children and international experience, Lolland was the perfect fit. “Given my background in internationalization, I reached out across the municipality andestablished valuable collaborations and initiatives to support the international ecosystem,” she says, referring to the major infrastructure projects and international companies bringing new life and opportunities to the island.
The timing was strategic. The Fehmarn Belt tunnel project, connecting Denmark and Germany, is bringing hundreds of international employees to the area. Vestas, the wind turbine company, is expanding its operations in Lolland as well. These developments created an urgent need for services and support systems that simply didn’t exist. Candice observes. “They still need good housing. They still need international schooling. They need to have a human-centered approach more than ever before.”
Entering Politics
Candice took a leap of faith into politics, transitioning from a self-described “highly sensitive person” to becoming a party member driven by purpose. Her political journey began unexpectedly at a local Apple Festival, where a conversation with the Deputy Mayor, a fellow Rotary Club member, took a decisive turn.
As she recalls, she was peppering him with detailed questions about municipal budgets and school board decisions. “I read the budgets and the meeting minutes,” she explains, citing her deep involvement on the school board. “He told me, ‘We could really use someone like you.’” His argument was compelling: the community was growing and needed to internationalize, but lacked that specific perspective in its political representation. “He said, ‘You’re engaged, you’re a professional in internationalization, and your international perspective. We don’t have that in our party or on the council,” Candice says.
The offer took her by surprise. “I’m not sure I thought he was serious at first,” she admits. “I didn’t come from a political background, and I have very thin skin.” Despite her reservations, she recognized a need she was uniquely qualified to fill. “What I can add is my internationalization experience and therefore unique perspective,” she states. “Internationalization is something we cannot deny has been happening and is only going to continue.”
The campaign of building bridges and sustainable systems for a thriving local and international community.
Candice has a big heart for community building. She is passionately involved withLolland International School, the local Rotary Club, her ‘Danes and Denmark’ seminars, and leading Global Lolland’s intercultural offerings together with dedicated individuals, associations, and partners. . Her campaign centers on three fundamental pillars that reflect both her professional expertise and lived experiences as an international resident, including housing, education and cultural integration. Her approach goes beyond providing services. She envisions creating a sustainable system that benefits both newcomers, long-term residents, and locals alike.
Candice believes that to attract global talent, Lolland must differentiate itself by mastering the fundamentals of relocation, starting with quality housing. “International talent can take their skills anywhere given the global demand and competition,” she states. “The question is, ‘Why Lolland?’ If we don’t have enough quality housing, a fundamental need, we’re not in the running.” She emphasizes that housing must be secured before arrival, paired with guided support throughout the entire process of settling in. Her focus on the ‘complete journey’ extends critically to education, especially for families with young children. A robust international school, she notes, is essential not only for new arrivals but also for repatriating Danes, making the community a viable option for families returning home.
The Human Infrastructure: Candice’s Vision for Retaining International Lolland
While housing and schools form the foundation for attracting global talent, Candice has a political vision that digs deeper into the nuances of cultural integration. She is acutely focused on the subtle yet critical amenities that transform a job posting into a home, ensuring that international families don’t just stay, but truly thrive in their local community.
“The expectations when relocating abroad are specific and often unspoken,” Candice explains. “It’s not enough to just have a football pitch for the children. Parents expect access to cultural enrichment, like music lessons. In fact, our local music school currently has a waitlist. It reflects the serious focus many global cultures place on extracurricular activities for their children. This isn’t just interest; it’s a core demand of the demographic that comes to Lolland and those that we’re trying to attract and retain.”
This attention to detail is driven by an awareness of a national trend that haunts Danish municipalities. “The reality is we can look at all the statistics, and they tell a clear, alarming story: approximately two-thirds of international residents leave Denmark within five years,” she states, framing the issue with data. For Candice, this high turnover is more than a social failure; it’s a profound economic misstep. “This churn is incredibly expensive for the entire local economy,” she says. “Every time a family leaves, we lose the investment made in recruiting them and the potential of their long-term contribution. We should be strategically reallocating those resources from constant recruitment to meaningful retention. It’s a smarter, more sustainable economic model.”
A focus on retention creates, she says, a positive feedback loop that benefits the entire community. “When we invest in keeping the talent we already have, they become better integrated. They learn the language, they understand the social fabric, they put down roots. They become more in tune with the community, and in turn, the community, including the Danish residents, becomes more in tune with the world. It’s a gradual, mutual cultural enrichment that strengthens the social and economic construct for everyone, not just the newcomers.”
A Crossroads of Concrete and Community
This philosophy is set against the backdrop of Lolland’s most significant infrastructural shift in decades: the forthcoming tunnel to Germany. Candice sees the island in 2025 standing at a historic crossroads, transforming from a peripheral destination into a central hub.
“The change is literal and immediate,” she says. “I can take the train, and just ten minutes after leaving the Danish side, I’ll be on German soil. The implications are enormous. We are going to become a kind of ‘Grand Central Station’ for the region, with a volume of traffic and transit through our island that we haven’t seen in generations.” For Candice, this physical connection demands a parallel investment in human infrastructure. The tunnel brings proximity, but it is the community that cultivates a sense of belonging.
This blend of pragmatism and personal connection defines her political approach. “The further I go in this journey, the more emotional I become, because my investment in this place deepens,” she says. “I’ve become acutely aware of the unique beauty of the island, the character of its special villages and towns, and the incredible efforts of the people who live here. That awareness doesn’t just make me a committed politician; it reinforces my responsibility as a resident. This work is about doing good for everyone who calls Lolland home.”
Whether her holistic vision – one that sees quality of life and economic vitality as two sides of the same coin will resonate at the ballot box is the imminent political question. Yet, her candidacy itself signals a pivotal moment for Danish local politics. It represents a growing need for the future of even the most traditionally Danish communities, which hinges on their ability to host international residents and genuinely embrace them, transforming geographical crossroads into a thriving, interconnected community.
Follow Candice on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/candice.l.progler/
Follow Candice on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candiceproglerthomsen/
