During a special Borough Council meeting on Tuesday January 24, 2023, Councilwoman Elsie Foster, the council president, was elected mayor by the council. She was elected to fill the remaining one year in the term of the prior mayor, who had resigned in December 2022. Mayor Foster was elected by the residents of Highland Park to a full four term in November 2023.

Previously, Foster served as Council Chair for the Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Fire Department, First Aid Squad, Police Department, Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Community Response Team (CERT). In prior terms she was Council Liaison to Recreation and Arts, Finance, Department of Public Utilities, Economic Development and Planning, Health and Welfare. Additionally, she served as Borough Council President for nearly ten years.

Mayor Foster is a champion of business development in Highland Park. She actively recruited a new supermarket, Super Fresh, to take the place of a grocery store that left town in March 2023. Super Fresh is planning to hold a grand opening in August 2024. Mayor Foster has also helped to welcome a new convenience store, an exercise studio, a fair trade goods and gifts store, a liquor store, a cannabis shop, a juice bar, and a kosher restaurant to town.

Mayor Foster is also a passionate advocate of community development. She has actively recruited new members of the Highland Park Human Relations Commission, the Public Information Committee, the Highland Park Arts Commission, and other Borough boards, committees, and commissions. She regularly visits monthly senior luncheons at the Highland Park Community Center, consults with the Mayor's Area Faith Leaders Group, and attends major events at local houses of worship. She is also proud of the work of her Mayor's Teen Advisory Council, which has raised thousands of dollars for the Highland Park First Aid Squad and Highland Park Fire Department over the past two years.

Foster is the Director of Consumer Affairs and Weights & Measures, for Middlesex County.
Previously, she was the President and CEO of Aunt Elsie’s Homestays, an international student housing organization. She worked at the Civil Service Commission as a legislative liaison to the State of New Jersey and was a founding partner of JamPhil Consultants, LLC.

Foster has an MBA in Global Management Candidate and holds a BS in Business Administration and Human Resource Management. She attended Women’s Campaign School, Yale University, New Haven, CT and Essex College of Business, Newark, NJ.