Tell Me A Story

TELL ME A STORY By: Elizabeth Carroll

Manager of Compliance, Tennessee Valley Authority

LEAVING THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE

When asked to share for the “Tell Me a Story” column I first thought, what story do I have to tell that would cause a reader to stop what he/she is doing to read? I have come to the conclusion that in the wisp of time we have on this Earth, we all have some meaningful nuggets in our journeys that may be worth sharing with someone. It is a honor to share a brief snapshot of my professional story.

After graduating UTK with a bachelor’s degree in Social Work in 1995, my concrete desire was to pursue further education that would allow me to continue serving the public. After much deliberation, I ultimately decided to attend the University of Tennessee, College of Law. Unbeknownst to me, this would start a unique professional journey that I could have never anticipated or predicted.

After graduating law school in 1997, the next 5 years brought marriage, moving to Nashville and then on to Memphis and starting a family. During these early years, I was blessed to work in a variety of settings and hold several positions at the same time; the Tennessee Human Rights Commission in Nashville, the Community Legal Center of Shelby County, the Juvenile Court of Shelby County, providing pro bono and reduced-fee services to low-income individuals and more. My early career path was, in many ways, untraditional, as compared to other attorney career paths. But during those early years, I was blessed to connect with opportunities that always allowed time to balance raising my children with meaningful and varied work. The experiences I was offered provided me the opportunity to work inside and outside of the home. As I have gotten older, I realize what a gift those early years were. Learning to juggle multiple things, working inside and outside the home, and utilizing my education and passion to serve others, all built a foundation for my career that were critical for the years to come.

After returning to Knoxville in 2005, I served as an associate in a local law firm before being asked in 2007 to serve as in-house counsel and ultimately Executive Director of a non-profit organization that served the state of Tennessee. After serving in that capacity for over 11 years, it was time for a change. In 2019, I began working at the Tennessee Valley Authority, in the Office of the General Counsel where I have served in the employment law group and most recently, as Manager of Compliance (in the Ethics and Compliance group of the OGC).

At times over the years, I have been asked why I did not practice law like other attorneys. Particularly, when transitioning from a law firm setting to a non-profit setting I was asked multiple times, “why are you not an attorney anymore”. While likely well-intentioned, these questions gave me opportunity to analyze my professional identity. What does my work mean to me? Who am I in terms of my professional space? Is my work less impactful because others may have deemed me to not be an attorney anymore (given a particular position I may have held)? Several things resulted from this analysis. Three primary themes emerged over time that, in large part, define my story and who I am today.

Focus – if nothing else, my career has been and remains foundationally focused on serving others the best I can. When I graduated law school 24 years ago, I knew I wanted to and was meant to passionately serve the public. I earned a social work degree, law degree and a license. Whatever my work would look like, I knew I would utilize my degrees and license to serve others, even if at times it did not look similar to many of my attorney peers. The shape and form that has taken has changed over time as opportunities have arisen, but my focus has remained the same. The years have shown me that staying focused on what we feel led to do and commit to those things that are of primary importance (family, work/life balance, professional passions, personal interests….) are key elements to everyone’s story. While this may seem elementary, remaining focused on professional goals, whatever they may be, and undistracted by what others may think or say is of key importance. Relationships – having been through many professional leadership programs and being heavily involved in the community, one of the key pieces to my story is the building of strong relationships. I cannot tell you how numerous relationships built and earned over time have come back to be a great blessing and benefit. We have all heard the sage advice of “don’t burn bridges,” but the building of meaningful, sincere, intentional relationships is the highest of honors and greatest of opportunities. I truly believe we work better when we work together. Serving in a wide variety of settings and being exposed to a diverse array of individuals has continually supported this truth.

Open-minded – would I have ever thought I would have served in some of the settings I have served? The simple answer is no. My journey has been a long and winding road. Keeping an open mind about opportunities has resulted in a diverse network of professional colleagues and friends, has given me the opportunity to grow and develop multiple professional skills, and has opened many doors. Had I kept a narrow mind about different professional opportunities, I would have missed out on many things including significant experiences of service, connection, and development.

In closing, my story is not an exciting one or significantly impactful. But as I reflect on my journey, I am reminded that our stories are not only about the positions we hold but about the influence we can have on this world and the lessons we learn along the way. What I have seen over the years is staying focused on our priorities, serving our relationships with others well, and leaving this world a better place than we found it (in big and small ways) is part of what makes all stories worth telling.

P.O. Box 2027 Knoxville, TN 37901

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