Her Story
About Carly
Carly Elliott serves as Associate University Counsel at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. She graduated from law school in 2015 and has spent her entire 11-year legal career in education law. After beginning in the K-12 sector advising Metro Nashville Public Schools, where she served as Title IX coordinator for two and a half years handling discrimination and harassment claims, she transitioned to higher education at Belmont University four years ago. In June she received a promotion to her current role. Elliott holds a B.A. in Communication with a minor in Spanish from the University of San Diego and earned her J.D. along with a certification in alternative dispute resolution. She is also Title IX certified and specializes in special education, disability law, and civil rights. She attributes her success to the support of her family, including parents who modeled careers in teaching and law, her husband, and mentors such as female attorneys Cindy and Lori, as well as her own determination and persistence. Elliott values service, informed by her Christian faith, and strives to maintain neutrality while advocating for students, faculty, and staff from all backgrounds in line with Belmont's mission of developing people of character.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Carly
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute a lot of my success to my family. I was privileged to be raised by a teacher and an attorney and have them model what a career could look like. My parents and my husband have always been supportive, saying you can do whatever you want, the sky's the limit. I also attribute it to mentorship from female attorneys like Cindy and Lori, and my own determination, confidence, and persistence. I had a career goal in my last year of law school and achieved it a little over 10 years later by keeping my own mind and being persistent.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
My dad advised me to consider non-traditional paths as an attorney instead of big law firms or criminal law. He also said every employee needs three things to feel happy: a sense of purpose, room for growth, and feeling respected in the workplace. This advice helped me pursue government work and higher ed, and I look for those three elements in jobs.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges is maintaining neutrality within this work. It is so important that students and faculty and staff from all walks of life feel that they can come to me without judgment. As society has become more polarized, it can be challenging to set my own thoughts and beliefs aside and really serve everyone the same way, but it's something I pride myself on.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Service is really important to me. I am a Christian and feel really called to serve and help others, especially advocating for people who struggle to advocate for themselves in disability law and civil rights work. I also value reflecting Belmont's mission of developing people of character, being accepting of people from all backgrounds, all walks of life, and all different perspectives.
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