Elizabeth Lockman

Elizabeth Lockman

Degree: 2015, M.A.

Job Title: State Senator for Delaware, District 3

S. Elizabeth "Tizzy" Lockman (MA '15) took office in the Delaware State Senate in January 2019 after winning the midterm election for Delaware's district 3 State Senator. Lockman replaces longtime state Sen. Robert Marshall, who held the seat for 40 years, and represents a district that covers much of Wilmington — from the east side to the west, including downtown and the Riverfront.

Tizzy earned a B.A. of Individualized Study from New York University’s Gallatin School with a concentration in film and linguistics. She worked in communications, development and production for a range of media companies including Nickelodeon, Lionsgate and HBO before spending a decade as a media and youth program producer for the Delaware production company Teleduction, Inc. and its nonprofit sister company, Serviam Media, running community outreach programs through its Hearts & Minds Film Initiative. 

As a graduate and parent of Delaware's Red Clay Consolidated School District, she volunteered extensively running projects supporting  public schools, arts and urban revitalization in Wilmington - through local PTAs, as founding chair of the Public Allies Delaware Alumni Council and a co-founder of Wilmington S.T.I.R. (Sitting Together is Radical), a community micro-granting dinner. 

Growing more active in education policy and community advocacy, Tizzy returned for an M.A. in Urban Affairs and Public Policy at UD to deepen her understanding of and efficacy in addressing public policy issues. During her study, she worked as a graduate assistant for the University’s Center for Community Research and Service, first supporting Public Allies Delaware and then supporting Wilmington City Council as an Urban Policy Fellow focused on education.

Her work as an Urban Policy Fellow in particular afforded her an opportunity to learn close-up the roles of various levels of government affecting equitable policy reform and to engage with a range of players at a critical moment for education policy in Delaware. This included serving as a facilitator for the Wilmington Education Strategy Think Tank (WESTT), a group of longtime education and civil rights leaders, aiding them in presenting policy history and analysis on education governance and funding  to public audiences. While doing so, she was able to build a strong foundation in urban affairs and policy analysis through her coursework and to study closely with Dr. Daniel Rich as her thesis adviser, whose unparalleled expertise and active role in education policy in Delaware enabled her to place this work in context and pursue further reform efforts in practice.

Her professional and service work has been greatly strengthened by the M.A. program. She is a member of the ACLU of Delaware board of directors and president of its foundation, and continues to serve in advocacy and advisory roles at the school, community and school district levels in Wilmington and New Castle County. She was a member of the Wilmington Education Advisory Committee (WEAC), created by an executive order of Governor Markell in response to a turbulent period of education reform. She currently serves as a Vice Chair of the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission (WEIC), a body supported by the UD's Institute for Public Administration which WEAC established through legislation that focuses upon building political will to advance institutional improvements in the quality of education, particularly as impacts traditionally disadvantaged students.