Who We Are
A strong and dedicated team with over 60 years
of collective experience.
Purpose Driven was founded to deliver projects within the new landscape of funding and financing that enables non-market landowners to redevelop while continuing to own and operate their land for the long term.
Our core values drive positive change, transforming communities into places of inclusivity where everyone can thrive. As a woman led company, we believe diverse teams drive innovation, and innovation achieves results.
We're not just consultants - we're partners in your development journey and in your success story. We believe real estate is powerful in transforming the way we live. When done well, inclusive, prosperous communities thrive for generations.
Don’t lose sleep over land development. That’s our job.
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With over two decades of leadership in real estate development, Carla Guerrera has delivered more than $2 billion in transformative projects, earning her a reputation as a visionary developer and leader in sustainable urban development. As the Founder and CEO of Purpose Driven Development, Carla leads a trailblazing firm dedicated to mixed-use, mixed-income projects that prioritize people, planet, and profit. Working with First Nations, governments, non-profits, and developer/investors, she specializes in simplifying complexities, mitigating risks, and unlocking value to create communities where everyone can thrive.
Carla's specialized expertise lies in revitalization of large, challenging sites, including waterfronts. She is a leading authority in working with large and complex organizations to successfully navigate real estate development and delivery. Her track record includes globally recognized projects like the West Don Lands redevelopment in Toronto—an 80-acre former industrial site transformed into one of Canada’s first climate-positive neighborhoods, celebrated internationally for its innovation. Carla has also catalyzed and is delivering North America's first housing for women, by women project, an $85m intergenerational housing development, the Soroptimist House.
Carla also serves on the Board of Directors for the Thames Estuary Growth Board—the UK's largest regenerative development initiative—and is also a Board Member of the BC Pavilion Corporation, providing strategic leadership with a global perspective. Her work has been recognized with local, national, and international accolades, highlighting her influence as a transformative leader in real estate development including being awarded the 2024 Business in Vancouver's Top CEO's in BC.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Carla’s love for the outdoors is boundless. Whether kayaking, hiking, cold ocean swims, or meditating by the water, she embraces nature as her sanctuary. A proud and devoted mom, she draws inspiration from her two children, Siena and Reece, who motivate her to approach life with passion and purpose.
Driven, compassionate, and innovative, Carla Guerrera is not just shaping the future of real estate development—she’s redefining what it means to lead with vision and heart.
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Alejandra brings 8+ years of experience in the development industry, leading transformative projects that have delivered over 1,000 units of housing. Originally from Colombia, and now making her new home in Coquitlam, Alejandra skillfully blends her dynamic expertise in civil engineering, business administration, project management, and urban planning. Her approach to development coordination and management is defined by forward-thinking and sustainable development practices. Skilled in managing everything from land acquisition to construction and occupancy in both Colombia and Canada, her experience underscores her ability to efficiently manage complex projects and foresee future needs and challenges. Deeply invested in expanding affordable housing options and fervently working toward enhancing non-market housing solutions, Alejandra’s mission is to make affordable living spaces widely available, promoting equity and inclusivity.
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As the Manager of Strategic Projects and Operations at Purpose Driven Development, Annelise expertly secures project financing, developing and nurturing key relationships with lenders and partners. She aligns financing strategies with our client’s project goals and oversees project compliance with legal and regulatory authorities. Annelise also oversees all corporate operational activities - driving process improvements and ensuring seamless execution at every level. With a strong focus on team and people management, Annelise inspires high performance and operational success. Her strategic vision and operational acumen are instrumental in advancing Purpose Driven’s organization’s goals and achieving project excellence.
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Jennifer is a highly experienced Financial Controller with over 10 years of expertise in accounting. With a strong foundation in accounting, auditing, and internal control, her expertise in financial management is further underscored by recent completion of an MBA. She brings expert insight to the financial management and design of efficient processes across various sectors, including manufacturing, service industries, and real estate.
Driven by a passion for optimizing financial operations, Jennifer is dedicated to enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of financial processes. She excels in roles that challenge her to improve business operations through detailed financial analysis and strategic planning. Jennifer applies her extensive experience and analytical capabilities to support the financial health and strategic financial goals of both the company and our clients, contributing to the creation of long-term social impact through sustainable and inclusive mixed-income, mixed-use development projects.
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Graeme has worked in the real estate industry for 35 years across single and multi-family residential development and construction, sales and marketing, IC&I real estate brokerage, retail shopping centre development, industrial, and institutional construction.
He completed his B.A. in Economics from UBC in 1989 and has since held senior leadership positions with firms including United Properties, Colliers International, BC Rail Properties, SmartCentres, Plenary Group Canada, and Ivanhoé Cambridge, where he served as Vice President of Retail Development.
Graeme is a leading expert in master planning and the delivery of large-scale, multi-phased mixed-use and mixed-income developments, most recently playing key leadership roles in the transformational Sen̓áḵw and Oakridge Park redevelopment projects. His extensive public and private sector experience, combined with deep expertise in complex project delivery, construction contracts, negotiation, sustainable development practices, and stakeholder leadership, makes him a significant strategic asset to Purpose Driven Development in his role as Executive Lead, Major Projects & Strategic Delivery.
Current and past roles include Westbank Corporation, Nch’ḵay Development Corporation, and La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
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Houssam is a community designer, housing expert and systems builder. He leads our strategic work along with our housing and master planning projects. Houssam has a passion for creating urban plans, policies and designs that boost human happiness. He brings an evidence-based approach that helps governments, developers and non-profit clients maximize urban health and happiness.
Houssam has led complex masterplanning, development and policy projects in diverse settings that range from rural towns to metropoles such as Dubai, Cairo and Vancouver. He also led Shore to Core, our groundbreaking collaboration with neuroscientists to examine the psycho-social effects of public space design in West Palm Beach.
Houssam plays leadership roles in various urbanist organizations. He is a co-founder and board chairman at Transport for Cairo, a mobility firm that pioneers data collection methods to improve informal transportation networks in emerging cities. He also sits on the board of organizations that work in real estate, transit advocacy and construction.
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Willow is Associate Vice President at Floorspace, a modern and tech-enabled commercial real estate brokerage based in Vancouver. She focuses on tenant and buyer representation in office and retail asset classes, with projects totalling over 1 million square feet leased and $500M sold.
Now in her eighth year of brokerage, Willow is one of the few established female brokers in Vancouver. Her mission is to change the face of the industry, and to this end, is passionate about supporting and promoting the advancement of women in commercial real estate. A believer in paying it forward, Willow is an active mentor of young women in business, as well as a supporter and volunteer with Dress for Success, and serves on the Board of Directors for McLaren Housing Society. She grew up in Calgary, Alberta, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Cell Biology and Genetics from UBC.
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Lawrie is the Founder of Collective Good Business Services Inc. which provides providing consult services in marketing and strategy. Prior to this, Lawrie was the Chief Marketing Officer for Coast Capital Savings Federal Credit Union.
Lawrie has significant senior management experience and is skilled in strategic planning and implementation, community giving and engagement, marketing, brand building, communications, public relations, , product development, customer relations and employee engagement.
Lawrie has over a two decades of Board Director experience with both non-profits/charities and for profit companies. She previously served as a Director of the Surrey Hospitals Foundation, the Boys and Girls Club of South Coast BC and was a member of the Loan Review Committee for Rise Asset Development. She is currently the Board Chair for YWCA Metro Vancouver and a Director on the Prospera Credit Union Board. Lawrie holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia and an ICD.D Designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors Rotman Director’s Education Program.
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Dan Van Leeuwen brings 30+ years of real estate executive leadership, driving transformative urban developments across Canada and the United States. His expertise spans mixed‑use, affordable housing, market residential, retail, commercial office, hospitality, and heritage redevelopment, with a consistent focus on inclusive community outcomes.
Prior to joining PDD, Dan served as Partner, Development at Windmill Development Group, where he led strategy and execution across major Canadian cities, including Canada’s largest co‑operative affordable housing initiative 2444 Eglinton, delivered in partnership with the City of Toronto, CreateTO, and the Co‑operative Housing Federation of Toronto (CHFT). He also oversaw acquisitions, financing, legal, and construction teams across a national portfolio.
Previously, Dan held several executive roles including as Managing Director of Taza Development Corp., Dan directed the full lifecycle of a $13B, 1,240‑acre mixed‑use development in partnership with the Tsuut’ina Nation and Canderel, the largest First Nations real estate development in North America.
Recognized for challenging the status quo, Dan excels at aligning people, strategy, and operations to achieve ambitious goals. He brings deep expertise in complex transactions, interdisciplinary team leadership, and navigating legal, financial, and governmental frameworks.
He contributes through board service, university lectures, industry thought leadership panels, and active engagement with ULI, ICSC, Lambda Alpha, and NAIOP.
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Paul established Paladon Development Group in 2006 to provide owner representation services to developers and institutions. Drawing on his 3 decades of experience effectively managing development and construction processes, Paul acts as an extension of a client’s interests throughout all project phases to maximize the value for every dollar spent on a project.
With over 3 decades of construction and development industry experience, Paul has delivered over 1.5m square feet of development across BC. With experience delivering mixed-use, mixed-income rental projects with the private, institutional, and financial management sectors Paul implements an approach that is relationship focused and based in effective communication to ensure efficient project delivery.
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Gwen Bridge is an Indigenous consultant specializing in Indigenous-led conservation, natural resource management, and policy development. A member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation, she brings a deep cultural perspective to her work, emphasizing the advancement of indigenous knowledge within a transforming Western legislative context. Gwen excels in facilitating collaboration between Indigenous communities, governments, and organizations to create sustainable land management solutions. With a Master of Science from the University of Alberta, her expertise extends to collaborative policy-making, indigenous strategy, organizational reform, and community engagement. She is dedicated to empowering Indigenous communities to take leadership roles in conservation and to shape policies that reflect their cultural values and sustainable practices.
Gwen has worked with tribal nations in the US and Canada and with national and international ENGO's to advance indigenous led natural resource management projects and policy development. She works with indigenous communities, her own and others to support their tribal sovereignty. Gwen is the co-founder of the Indigenous Engagement Institute, an initiative to share knowledge and skills with those seeking to improve indigenous relations.
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Kyle is a real estate development professional with over seven years of experience delivering residential and mixed-use communities across Metro Vancouver. He has led the advancement of 1,700+ homes from early design development through construction completion and occupancy, including multiple financially viable, all-electric communities built to the highest provincial energy-efficiency standards.
Kyle’s background in technology, transportation, and digital media has shaped his client-focused, solutions-oriented approach to project delivery. He brings strong communication skills, operational discipline, and a collaborative mindset to every stage of the development process.
He has contributed to industry improvement through active involvement in the HAVAN G.R. Committee, CHBA BC G.R. Committee, UDI / City of Coquitlam Liaison Committee, and the UDI Building Code Committee.
Drawn to Purpose Driven Development for its leadership, values, and triple-bottom-line mandate, Kyle is committed to delivering projects that create long-term community impact and reflect the region’s evolving housing needs.
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With 40 years of construction industry experience, Andrew founded Stanbury Project Managers in 2016 and provides project management and industry peer support to the non-profit and for-profit property sectors.
Andrew Hull serves as a key Senior Construction Specialist and Advisor with Purpose Driven Development, providing strategic guidance to the company and its projects.
With experience as a design-builder and construction manager, Andrew specializes in delivering transformative outcomes for non-profit and for-profit property developers. His expertise spans diverse market sectors and building forms, including concrete, steel, mass-wood, and wood frame construction, from high-rise to low-rise developments. Notable projects include a prefabricated community center on a remote island, an underground cancer treatment facility, industrial manufacturing facilities, and mid to high rise mixed-use and commercial developments.
Having worked in a Board and Advisory capacity with complex, faith-based organizations like the United Church, Andrew understands the complexities and challenges of faith-based organizations and how clients can unlock the full potential of their assets to achieve lasting value.
Andrew’s deep understanding of contract structures—such as design-build, construction management, stipulated price or lump sum, and Guaranteed Maximum Price agreements—combined with his studies in Structural Engineering, Building, and Carpentry, gives him unparalleled insights into construction, estimating and development.
His leadership and expertise are an excellent value-add to the success of the Purpose Driven Development team, and instrumental in building through collaboration by his own firm, STANBURY Construction Consulting.
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Karey is an owner and a member of the management team at JFK Law, a specialized law firm that provides legal services to First Nations and other organizations or individuals seeking a more just society. Karey is a senior litigator who is actively involved in the legal profession. She was elected to the Canadian Bar Association Provincial Council in 2016 to represent Vancouver County. She is co-chair of the CBA Truth and Reconciliation Subcommittee. She is also a member of the Advisory Board for the BC Advocates Society.
Karey graduated from law school at UBC in 2001 and holds a master's of law from Osgoode Hall Law School. She has been recognized as a Leading Practitioner in Aboriginal Law by Lexpert since 2016 and is recognized by her peers in the Best Lawyers in Canada publication in the field of Aboriginal Law. Karey is an experienced Board member who also serves as a Board member of the Collingwood School.
Karey has been Lexpert® ranked as a Leading Lawyer in Aboriginal Law since 2016 and as one of the Best Lawyers in Aboriginal Law in Best Lawyers in Canada since 2017. In 2016, Karey was awarded the UBC Law School Outstanding Young Alumnus Award and in 2015, Karey Brooks was recognized as one of Canada’s Legal Rising Stars by Lexpert.
Our Founder
Carla is a recipient of the prestigious Urban Land Institute's "Top 40 Under 40 Global Land Use Professionalism Award", as well as Business in Vancouver's Top 40 Under 40 Award. More on awards here.
Carla was recently appointed as a Board Member to the Thames Estuary Growth Board helping to lead the revitalization of the world-famous Thames River and the largest growth opportunity in the UK. Locally she also serves on the British Columbia Pavilion Corporation.