Nele Hertling née Schröder (born 23 February 1934) is a German theatre manager and promoter of innovative culture.

Hertling is considered the grande dame of the established German Freies Theater [de] (free theatre).

(Informal European Theatre Meeting), Theorem, Gulliver Clearing House in Amsterdam, since 1995 she has been a member of the "Franco-German Cultural Council" (President since 2001), the Goethe-Institut's Performing Arts Advisory Board and the Board of Trustees of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes [de].

From 1970, she created programs and series of events in Berlin, including Pantomime-Musik-Tanz-Theater (PMTT), with Dirk Scheper, for pantomime, music, dance and theatre.

[3] She was responsible, with Thomas Langhoff [de], for the conception and program of the Germany-wide festival Theater der Welt (theatre of the world).