Jenny Hill was elected as the first female Mayor of the City of Townsville, Australia in 2012. Hill was first elected to the former Townsville City Council in 1997 and was re-elected in 2004 during which time she became Deputy Mayor. She was again re-elected in 2008, serving as a councillor under former Mayor Les Tyrell. Previously, her employment included mining laboratories, DPI, James Cook University and the Pathology Department of the Townsville Hospital in Microbiology. In 1986 she joined the Army Reserve, first serving in the Royal Corps of Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers and then becoming one of the first women in Australia to complete full infantry training.

Hill was born and educated in Melbourne, Victoria and graduated from LaTrobe University with a Bachelor of Science in 1981 before moving to Townsville in 1982. She also completed a Masters in Public Health and Tropical Medicine at James Cook University. Hill is married to husband Shane, an ex-serviceman. They have two children, a daughter who is studying at University in Brisbane and a son who attends the Military School of Infantry in Singleton. Hill is a car enthusiast and also a passionate supporter of the Collingwood Football Team and the North Queensland Cowboys. Hill has been very active with school P & Cs, as well as junior sporting clubs, and as Townsville City Council's first female mayor, she is very focused on giving back to her community.