Cllr Elizabeth Mizon became the 787th Mayor of Southampton on 13 May 2009 following her term as Sheriff of the city. She first came to Southampton from Lancashire in 1967 to take up her first teaching appointment which was at Weston Park Junior School. After leaving the city to get married she then taught in Oxford and London but returned when her husband took a post at Southampton University. Whilst her children were small she was involved with the community play school, was a governor of two Southampton schools and the School Governor Training Co-coordinator. She lived in Australia, America, and Italy. She elected as Councillor for Bassett in 2002.