Alexander Sterling

Alexander “Brave Journey” Sterling : Enrolled member of the Ramapo Lenape nation / Black / Cuban is the Founder and CEO of Turtle Island Community Capital, a Native-led CDFI building relational capital infrastructure for Indigenous entrepreneurs, tribal nations, and underserved communities across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Rooted in his cultural heritage and upbringing alongside indigenous communities in Rhode Island and New Jersey, Alexander’s work focuses on transforming capital from a tool of extraction into a vehicle for repair, self-determination, and community resilience.

Through Turtle Island Community Capital, Alexander is developing community-centered lending, technical assistance, and convening models that support Native entrepreneurs, clean energy projects, small businesses, and regional economic infrastructure. His work bridges impact investing, community development finance, Indigenous economic sovereignty, and narrative change, with a focus on building capital systems governed by relationship, trust, and long-term responsibility.

Alexander has spoken and presented across spaces focused on Native finance, catalytic capital, climate justice, and economic mobility, including RE+, the NCRC Just Economy Conference, SOCAP, and regional impact investing gatherings. He is currently advancing TICC’s Watershed Capital Fund and broader capital “waterway” strategy to move flexible, values-aligned capital into communities historically excluded from traditional finance.

He lives in Rhode Island on the unceded lands of the Narragansett with his 2 partners, 3 kids and 3 black cats.