Silja Schultheis studied cultural history of Central and Eastern Europe, Polish studies and history at the universities of Bremen, Mainz and Marburg - including a one-year study stay in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Since 2001 she has worked in Prague as a journalist for German and Czech media, inter alia Czech Radio, ARD, n-ost. From 2013 she collaborates with Heinrich Böll Foundation in Prague, and since 2016 she works there as a program assistant for the program Democracy.