As a committed Christian, wife and mother, educator and civic leader, Carolyn Ellis understands the meaning of service.

Raised by her parents in rural Northwest Florida, Carolyn learned early in life the value of hard work, faith in God, and public service. Carolyn’s father was a wheat farmer who started his own farm equipment business when he returned home from World War II, and her mother – a devout Baptist – served as City Clerk for the City of Marianna, Florida for almost 30 years.

A lifelong educator, Carolyn received her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in English Education, and went on to teach high school and junior college English for 22 years. She still teaches conversational English to local international members of our community.

Carolyn believes that her faith is an integral part of her life and serves as a Sunday School teacher, a published devotional writer and has traveled overseas on mission trips to Honduras and Albania to help meet the health and educational needs of the people there.

Carolyn also lives out these values by also working tirelessly to improve the lives of people here at home. In her work as the President of the Greater Lee County Boys and Girls Club and the Partnership for Children, Carolyn has helped provide young people with opportunities to grow emotionally, socially, and intellectually. She has also advocated for better child care for poor children and for constitutional reforms to end the unfair tax system that burdens Alabama’s neediest families.

In addition to her community service, Carolyn also serves as wife and mother. She and her husband, Cliff, have been married for 36 years, and have three grown children – Clay, Anna Catherine, and Chryssa Rutland, who has their two grandchildren, Hannah Grace and Ellis.