Ella Risati currently serves as Principal Advisor, Strategic Partnerships – Government and Industry, where she works to advance and enhance UQ’s engagement with state, local and federal governments.
Ella came to UQ from New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, where as a New Zealand diplomat she advanced New Zealand’s interests in the international arena. This included diplomatic postings as a Political, Trade and Economic Secretary in Vanuatu, Samoa and Papua New Guinea where she led political, economic and geostrategic analysis and reporting; delivered leader-level visits; managed governance, economic and politics-focused aid programmes, and consular responses; and led New Zealand’s engagements with partner governments on priority issues including labour mobility, defence, and immigration policy.
In MFAT’s headquarters in Wellington, Ella worked in the multilateral negotiation space delivering New Zealand’s foreign policy on Antarctic issues; across Melanesian and Micronesian desks advancing foreign aid and foreign policy objectives; and in the COVID-19 Pacific Repatriation Taskforce developing and implementing policies and processes to enable the repatriation of Pacific nationals during the pandemic.
Prior to joining New Zealand’s foreign service, Ella tutored Political Science and International Politics at Victoria University of Wellington and was a research advisor at New Zealand’s Ministry of Education. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (French and International Politics), and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in International Politics from Victoria University of Wellington.