Nina Katherine Keesling was born in 1954 in Bronxville, New York, to Paul Edward Prass and Elda Ann Smith Prass. She later established her professional life in financial analysis, banking, international trade, and public administration, working in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Wilmington.
Keesling studied at L'École de la Science Politique in Paris from 1974 to 1975. The institution developed from the École Libre des Sciences Politiques, founded in 1872 to provide modern education in political, economic, and social affairs; it later became known internationally as Sciences Po.
She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University in 1976. Georgetown's School of Foreign Service was founded in 1919 to prepare students for diplomatic, commercial, financial, governmental, and international-service careers, placing her studies within an institution designed for global affairs.
Keesling began her financial career as a foreign-exchange trader with Chemical Bank in New York City from 1976 to 1977. Foreign-exchange trading formed part of the increasingly international banking environment of the period, in which commercial banks handled currency transactions for corporations, institutions, and governments.
She worked with Manufacturers Hanover in Los Angeles from 1978 to 1979 and in New York City from 1980 to 1982, first in financial work and later in an assistant vice-presidential role in Wilmington, Delaware, from 1983 to 1985. Manufacturers Hanover was a major American commercial bank whose operations reflected the expansion and consolidation of large-scale banking during the late twentieth century.
From 1985 to 1988, Keesling was a vice president at Fidelity Bank in Philadelphia. She then entered Delaware state service as a finance specialist in Wilmington in 1989. Her public-sector work connected financial analysis with the administration of state economic and financial affairs, while her later activities also involved international trade and captive insurance policy in Delaware.
Keesling is affiliated with the Republican Party, one of the two major political parties in the United States. During the period of her financial and public-sector career, the party included currents emphasizing private enterprise, fiscal restraint, limited government, and a strong role for the United States in international affairs.
Keesling participated in People to People International, a civic organization founded in 1956 to promote understanding and friendship among people of different countries. She was also associated with Finance Analysts Wilmington, the Governor's International Trade Council, and the State Chamber Captive Insurance Committee.
Her organizational activities complemented her work in finance and public administration. The international trade council addressed economic relationships beyond Delaware, while the captive insurance committee concerned a specialized area of insurance and corporate risk management.
Keesling married Richard Allen Keesling on September 22, 1985. They have two children, Brittany Kaye Keesling and Tyler Paul Keesling.
Her parents were Paul Edward Prass and Elda Ann Smith Prass. Keesling has also been documented as an advocate for abused children in court.
