Ellen Fitzgerald and her husband, Mick, operate Marita Downs, northwest of Longreach in central Queensland, producing beef cattle as part of a wider family partnership. Both Ellen and Mick were boarders during their school years and grew up with parents who were ICPA members. Now, as they educate their own children through distance education and face some significant decisions about boarding school in the years ahead, while also raising young children in early childhood, they both see the importance of ICPA’s advocacy in a new light.
Ellen’s professional career has included roles in the agricultural private sector, as well as working as a high school teacher and Head of Department in rural schools. Throughout her career, however, Ellen has been unable to resist what she describes as a genetic predisposition to being involved in one community organisation or another -usually several! She has held committee and director positions within local race clubs, agricultural shows, the Agricultural Societies Council of NSW and the Federal Council of Agricultural Societies, and she is generally unable to keep herself away from a good meeting.
Ellen attended her first Queensland ICPA State Conference in Atherton in 2026 and was inspired by the incredible work of ICPA. She is extremely excited to work alongside such a dynamic, professional and motivated group of Federal Councillors to achieve a common and critical goal that she wholeheartedly supports: every child deserves a quality education, regardless of distance.
