Career Education Corporation, a provider of post-secondary education programs and services, has appointed Teresa Cotton Santos to the newly-created position of senior vice president, chief ethics and compliance officer.

Cottons Santos joins the company from Eli Lilly and Company, where she served as assistant general counsel of litigation and legal compliance, managing all aspects of litigation and developing strategies for mitigating risk. She has held a variety of legal positions since joining Eli Lilly in 1998.

Earlier in her career, Cotton Santos served as a prosecutor in the Office of the Circuit Attorney for the City of St. Louis.