Meet Colleen McElmell

Associate Broker/Owner of Wiechert

It’s funny how our lives can be changed in an instant and take on a direction that probably wouldn’t have happened had that one thing not occurred.

Colleen’s path to her real estate career started early on in her life. She grew up the child of a successful real estate agent, her mom, Jody. She went to work when Colleen was just 5 years old selling real estate. It seemed like she lived and breathed the business. Then in 1974 she got her brokers license and opened up “House of Homes Realty” in Napa, CA. Jody hired her daughter Colleen as her office assistant and receptionist after high school was out for the summer. Tragically, only 4 months after opening her office, Jody was killed in an automobile accident. Soon after that Colleen vowed that one day, she too would open up her own real estate company!

After moving to Arizona in 1992 (and a lot of moves all over the country in between that), Colleen decided it was time to realize that life-long dream. In 1995 She quit her corporate job and got her real estate license. Proving that it was a good career move not only to herself, but to the many who doubted a single mom could do it, she started CLA Realty in 1999.

Colleen says “I love my career, my freedom, being able to see my family more and meeting some amazing people which I would never had met had I not gone into real estate. It really was destiny. Thanks mom!”