Carlie Back

Carlie Back is a realtor in South Phoenix and the Laveen area. She saw, and demonstrated the potential South Phoenix had that others did not see.

Back was born in the year of 1961 in San Diego, California. She is the oldest of four girls. She moved and grew up in upstate New York in a suburb. Her father was a dentist, and her mother was a stay at home mom. She was an active child that participated in many sports. As a student, her teachers would say that she socialized and daydreamed too much. Little did they know that would be her biggest asset.

At the age of eighteen Carlie wanted to get away from the snow, and decided to enroll at Arizona State University. She graduated with her Bachelor degree in marketing. During her morning commute to ASU, she noticed that not a lot of people lived along South Mountain, and she wondered why. With the help of her father and grandfather she was able to purchase her first house at the Pointe at South Mountain (now the Arizona Grand Resort) before she graduated college. Since then, she has stayed in South Phoenix, and is passionate about the potential the area has. She has lots of experience in selling as she sold electronics, and cellular phones for almost ten years at Motorola. She then started to work in large corporations for a while, but then decided that she wanted to be her own boss, so she got into real estate.

Her biggest challenge as a realtor was convincing people to live in South Phoenix due to the stereotypes about the area. Around the 1990’s people placed a negative image on South Phoenix. They perceived South Phoenix to be dangerous, and she felt like it was very undeserved for the area and the people. Carlie was confident she could get people to buy property and live in the area. She had the ability to show that South Phoenix was more than what it was perceived to be. She saw the potential in the South Phoenix area when others didn’t.

Carlie has studied, and tried to make South Phoenix the best that it could be. She will continue to work in South Phoenix and Laveen. She is also part of the South Mountain Community College Board. She believes that South Phoenix is growing fast and will be even better in ten years. She claims that there are “Deep roots here” and “Once people move here they tend not to move out.” Carlie Back was meant to help South Phoenix since she was little, because her socializing helped her get to know people, and her daydreaming helped South Phoenix get better.

Student Researchers: Naomi Dominguez, Maria Molina, Fall 2019

Narrator	Carlie Back
Birthdate	1961
Place of Origin	San Diego, California and Upstate New York
Place of Residence	Metro Phoenix, Arizona
Years Active in South Phoenix	1981-
Occupation	Real Estate
Interview Date	September 26, 2019
Interview Conducted (Location)	South Mountain Community Library
Interviewed By	Student Researchers: Naomi Dominguez, Maria Molina
Story Written By	Student Researchers: Naomi Dominguez, Maria Molina