BioFi Deep Dive w/ Alexander Sterling: Turtle Island Community Capital & the Role of CDFIs in Biocultural Regeneration & Indigenous Thriving
Join us for a BioFi Deep Dive with Alexander “Brave Journey” Sterling - Co-Founder and CEO of Turtle Island Community Capital (TICC). TICC is a Native-led, mission-driven financial institution building the infrastructure for economic sovereignty and community resilience across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
At TICC, Alexander is leading the development of a place-rooted Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) designed to expand access to capital for Indigenous communities, regenerative small businesses, and community-owned clean energy projects. TICC operates through a model of relational finance, pairing lending with technical assistance, ecosystem coordination, and long-term partnership so that capital flows in ways that strengthen communities rather than extract from them.
Alexander brings extensive experience in community building, systems change, energy project development, capital structuring, and tribal partnership. His prior work includes stints in tech, academia events and program oversight of more than 200MW of utility-scale solar projects and leadership within a $135 million initiative serving 14 Native communities, where workforce development and community governance were central pillars.
In this conversation, we will explore the role of Native CDFIs in biocultural regeneration and Indigenous thriving. Turtle Island Community Capital approaches finance not as a transactional system, but as community infrastructure to be grounded in cultural accountability, bioregional awareness, and long-term stewardship.
We’ll discuss how place-based investment, Indigenous governance, and regenerative finance can work together to build economies that support land, culture, and intergenerational resilience. We'll discuss how to unblock the dams that have caused capital droughts in communities and how the bioregional economic transition is already underway beneath our feet.
Learn more about TICC:
https://turtleislandcommunitycapital.org/
Share this event with others who are curious about reshaping capital to serve life — and come ready to explore what becomes possible when finance is rooted in relationship.