STATE SENATOR TIZZY LOCKMAN
Delaware State Senate District 3
Service: Public Allies AmeriCorps
S. Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman has long been an outspoken advocate for stronger communities and statewide education reform. Lockman serves as Vice Chair of the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission (WEIC), which was established by HB 148 in Delaware's 148th General Assembly in 2015 and signed into law by Governor Jack Markell, to serve as an advisory committee for planning, recommending, and implementing changes to ensure that every child in Delaware has access to a high-quality education. In addition to serving on WEIC, Tizzy is the Director of the Parent Advocacy Council for Education (PACE) at the Christina Cultural Arts Center, where she trains leaders to advocate for equity, access, and more effective learning in local schools and community spaces. Lockman also serves on the Board of the American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware.
Lockman was first drawn to community service through the Public Allies AmeriCorps program in 2004, where she served as Program Manager for the Hearts & Minds Film Initiative of Serviam Media, developing outreach programming, film festivals, and youth media workshops. She later became the first President of the Public Allies Delaware Alumni Council, through which she co-founded the Wilmington STIR dinner series, which brought together community members and their ideas to fund community projects on a small scale.
While her daughter attended elementary school in Wilmington, Lockman joined the Highlands Elementary School Parent Teacher Association, serving as President from 2010 to 2013, increasing engagement around school and district issues.
Driven to better understand the inequities she witnessed in the school system, Lockman pursued her master’s degree in Urban Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Delaware, graduating in 2015. During the degree program, she served as the Urban Policy Fellow for the Wilmington City Council from 2014 to 2015, researching and drafting policy proposals to address issues directly affecting Wilmington.
In 2014, Lockman was appointed to serve on the Wilmington Education Advisory Committee, a task force established by Delaware Governor Jack Markell's Executive Order 46, led by chair Tony Allen, to assess the current landscape of Wilmington public schools and develop recommendations to improve educational attainment for Delaware students. This group later gave way to WEIC.
Tizzy was raised in the Cool Spring neighborhood on Wilmington’s west side. She was educated in Red Clay Consolidated School District and graduated from A.I DuPont High School in 1997. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Film and Linguistics from NYU and a master’s degree in Urban Affairs and Public Policy from the University of Delaware.