Sacha invests in relationships, so that models for how we steward land and house communities can find new ground.

Who We Are?

New models for housing people, growing food and caring for the land are taking shape. They are being built by people who understand their sectors deeply enough to see what is not working and are determined to build something better.

Sacha works in this space. Often alongside conventional financing, we are flexible enough to fill gaps, specific enough to be useful, and always grounded in relationships to hold through the hard parts.

What We Value

  • We bring deep sector knowledge to every conversation. This expertise is what makes flexible deal structures possible. You can’t design around a problem you don’t understand.

  • The impact we seek requires trust that transactional relationships struggle to produce. At times, that means honesty before comfort, and high standards held both ways.

  • We design terms and structures around what each project needs. The gaps in conventional financing are specific, and our capital needs to be strategically responsive to fill those gaps effectively.

  • We are committed to the work and to our partners, without attachment to any single process or outcome. This allows us to hold a longer time horizon and to walk away when the fit isn’t right.

“We bring deep technical knowledge of the sectors we work in, which means our questions are direct and our analysis is rigorous.  Equally important, we value the people  on the other side of the table who care deeply about what they're building.”

—
Kira Gerwing
Chief Real Estate Investment Officer

Our Team

Kira Gerwing

  • Kira brings visionary, compassionate, and strategic leadership to the pursuit of affordable housing, regenerative organic agriculture, and eco-forestry in Western Canada. In her role as Chief Real Estate Investment Officer, she discovers, cultivates and nurtures investment opportunities and partnerships that change how we own, steward and develop land.

    Prior to joining Sacha, Kira was the Senior Manager in Community Investment at Vancity Credit Union, where she led opportunities in affordable housing, reconciliation and Indigenous business development, low or no-carbon green buildings, and meaningful climate action for businesses.

    She has a Master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning and practiced as an urban planner with the City of Vancouver for almost a decade. She’s married to an entrepreneur who works with her to parent two teen-aged children. She loves downhill skiing, cooking, and riding her bike to get around the city.

Rob Purdy

  • Rob brings a broad and very diverse background to Sacha, including increasingly senior financial positions in Canada and the UK. He focuses this expertise on opportunity sourcing, due diligence, partnership structuring and portfolio management for Sacha.

    Prior to Sacha, Rob held CFO positions within non-profit housing, real estate development, and clean technology sectors. He has worked with a broad range of individuals and organizations who are leaders in their fields and achieving impact across many geographies including the UK, the US and Canada. Through these experiences, Rob has honed his skills as a creative thinker who is passionate about using finance as a tool for positive change.

    Rob is an active contributor to his local community. He’s developed rental housing, he serves on the board of a local society, and he co-owns and operates a local cidery on Bowen Island with his wife Christine. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University. He is a Chartered Professional Accountant and a registered Submortgage Broker in BC.

Robert Brown

  • Robert is focused on the development and implementation of Sacha’s affordable housing investment strategy. With over 40 years of diverse real estate and business experience, he also provides strategic advice that helps shape the organization’s growth and mission-aligned culture.

    Robert began his real estate career in his native Scotland before relocating to Vancouver and founding Chesterman Properties, well known for their green building projects in Metro Vancouver and resort/hospitality properties in Tofino BC.

    Robert went on to create Catalyst Community Developments Society, and under his leadership, completed seven projects and another ten under development, for a total of 1,400 homes and over 80,000 sq ft of community and commercial space.

    Throughout his life, Robert has consistently blended his pragmatic real estate and business skills with a passion for social justice and environmental stewardship. He believes that when these two worlds “mesh” we can create a space where people can truly flourish and magical things can happen.

Alicia Medina

  • Alicia brings over 13 years of experience in impact investment, social purpose real estate, architecture, and entrepreneurship. She is committed to advancing social and environmental impact through strategic real estate initiatives, focusing on affordable housing projects that build sustainable, connected, and resilient communities. Her approach integrates technical rigor with empathy and a values-driven perspective, aligning with Sacha’s mission to deliver lasting social and environmental impact through financially sustainable projects.

    Before joining Sacha, Alicia managed the Affordable Community Housing Program at Vancity Community Foundation, where she focused on fostering stakeholder relationships and ensuring financial sustainability while upholding the program’s mission and values.

    Alicia holds a Bachelor’s in Architecture from UDLAP (Puebla, Mexico) and a Master’s of Advanced Studies in Architecture from the University of British Columbia. She practiced architecture for nearly a decade and worked as a development consultant for non-profit affordable housing organizations. She co-owns a craft brewery and a kombucha company.

    Alicia enjoys spending time outdoors in the local mountains and can often be found in Mount Pleasant or tending to her community garden with her partner.

Dan Lien

  • Dan brings a background in commercial real estate finance and capital markets to his role at Sacha. He focuses on portfolio monitoring, reporting, and fund operations, helping manage Sacha’s capital to support affordable housing and regenerative agriculture over the long term.

    Prior to joining Sacha, Dan was the Financial Analyst at Lotus Capital Corp, a Vancouver-based real estate investment firm. He supported more than $130 million in property acquisitions, built financial models, and monitored an operating portfolio of ten properties. He began his career in capital markets operations at Odlum Brown and Raymond James.

    Dan holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business and is working towards his mortgage broker licence in BC. Outside of work, he enjoys playing volleyball and trying new spots around the city.

Ready to make a lasting
impact?

If you are an organization seeking financing for a project and would like to learning more about our work, please complete this enquiry form to connect with us.