Elizabeth Lockman

Majority Whip

Sen. S. Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman represents the Third Senate District, which encompasses communities in central and west Wilmington and reaches into New Castle County to the South, including portions of Newport.

Raised in Wilmington’s Cool Spring neighborhood, Lockman graduated from Alexis I. duPont High School. She later earned a bachelor’s degree from New York University and a master’s degree in urban affairs and public policy from the University of Delaware.

Lockman entered community service in 2004 through Public Allies Delaware, where she served as program manager for Serviam Media’s Hearts & Minds Film Initiative. When her daughter enrolled in kindergarten at Joseph E. Johnson Elementary (formerly Highlands Elementary,) Lockman joined the Parent Teacher Association and served as the group’s president from 2010-2013.

From there, she was appointed to the Wilmington Education Advisory Committee by then Gov. Jack Markell and later served as vice chair of the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission, while also working as director of the Parent Advisory Council on Education (PACE) initiative at the Christiana Cultural Arts Center.

Lockman was elected to the Delaware Senate in 2018, becoming just the second African American woman elected to the General Assembly’s upper chamber. Sen. Lockman has served as Majority Whip since 2020.

Sen. Lockman currently serves as chair of the Senate Housing & Land Use Committee, chair of the Senate Rules & Ethics Committee, vice chair of the Senate Education Committee, and a member of the Senate Environment, Energy & Transportation, Executive and Legislative Council committees.

She also serves as co-chair of the Redding Consortium for Education Equity, which is tasked with spearheading the search for ways the Delaware Department of Education and the General Assembly can work together to improve outcomes for students in Wilmington and Northern New Castle County.

Sen. Lockman lives in Wilmington with her husband John, her infant son Jack and her daughter Sophie (when she comes home from college).
Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman was elected to the State Senate in November 2018 and represents communities in and surrounding central and west Wilmington. Her district is one of the most diverse and densely populated in Delaware. She was raised in Wilmington’s Cool Spring neighborhood.
Senator Lockman has long been an advocate for education reform, originally through her local Parent Teacher Association and then as a member of the Wilmington Education Advisory Committee (WEAC). When WEAC established the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission (WEIC) – which focused on better serving Wilmington’s public school students through equity-focused funding – Lockman became the group’s Vice Chair.
Senator Lockman entered community service through Public Allies Delaware in 2004, where she served as Program Manager for the Hearts & Minds Film Initiative of Serviam Media. When her daughter enrolled in kindergarten at Highlands Elementary School, Sen. Lockman joined the Parent Teacher Association and served as the group’s president from 2010-2013.

Senator Lockman continues to fight for reforming public education, most recently leading a grassroots organizing effort to develop community leadership on this issue as the director of the Parent Advisory Council on Education (PACE) initiative at the Christina Cultural Arts Center. The initiative pursues a vision to improve effective participation in the public education system to strengthen it for students living in the city of Wilmington with a focus on building recognized parent leadership, driven by local outreach and a community-built advocacy agenda.
Senator Lockman was elected by her peers as Senate Majority Whip, in 2021 and chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and Senate Rules & Ethics committee, vice chair of the Education Committee and serves on the Senate Executive committee. She also serves as co-chair of the Redding Consortium for Education Equity, which is developing ways the Delaware Department of Education and the General Assembly can improve outcomes for students in Wilmington and Northern New Castle County.