Land identification, acquisition, financing
Rezoning, community engagement & design
Program development focus groups
Development strategy, positioning, programming & management
Marketing, sales, leasing
Establishment of cohesive culture
Community program activation, coordination & management
Cultivation of connection, harmony & engagement
Hiring, training & management of community staff
Balance of privacy and community
Fourplex residences (non-strata)
Facilitated connective and supportive programs in your EarthSong OasisTM community hub just around the corner
Ground-oriented townhomes
Low to midrise condominiums
Facilitated connective and supportive programs in your EarthSong OasisTM community hub right at your doorstep
Close to services and amenities
Peaceful, calming, grounding surroundings
Near or on the ocean, the mountains, a lake, a creek, or by an old growth forest
Vancouver West
North Vancouver
Bowen Island
Tsawwassen
Sechelt
Sunshine Coast
Squamish
Pemberton
Coastal Vancouver Island
Okanagan
Indigenous Coastal Lands
With a professional Community Alchemist, we cultivate a vibrant and welcoming culture. EarthSong residents get together regularly without any one person having to organize, prepare, cook and clean for a gathering.
We support our families with what they would otherwise pay for and coordinate within their own family. Each EarthSong OASIS has shared community facilitator, chef, babysitter and housekeeper services.
Instead of dropping into community yoga classes where people come and go, but don’t talk to each other, EarthSong neighbours have regular wellness sessions together, and can come early or stay late to share meaningfully about their days.
Children have built-in playdates within the EarthSong community, while grandparents are free to have fun with them instead of being responsible for their safety, and they develop friendships with other grandparents.
For the elderly who require assistance with daily, personal activities within their home, EarthSong facilitates by finding, interviewing and securing the right in-home care aide for each family’s unique requirements and expectations.
EarthSong creates environments where – across all generations – residents share with each other their energy, time and support. They practice together their life tools and strategies. The elder generation imparts wisdom through their life stories. Children spread lightness, curiosity, joy, sweetness, purity, and wonder.
EarthSong is about living, growing and evolving in community.
Co-Founder, President & CEO
Vision and purpose fuel my leadership. I exist to instigate and implement paradigm shifts that positively impact generations to come…
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Co-Founder, President & CEO, EarthSong Communities
Vision and purpose fuel my leadership. I exist to instigate and implement paradigm shifts that positively impact generations to come. My life’s work is about redefining how we relate and connect with each other and the environment, and how we grow individually and collectively. I transform complex systems at their core. Throughout my career, I have founded and led real estate businesses, consistently materializing seemingly impossible miracles through passion, mental clarity, strategy, pragmatism, commitment, adaptability and infectious energy. I pride myself on integrity, living by the belief: Do good, and good will come.
My leadership roles in real estate have spanned visioning; strategic planning; rezoning, master planning, architectural and interior design; project management; project financing; investment fundraising; community, media and government relations; branding, sales, leasing and marketing; and operationalizing innovative approaches to building sustainable, interconnected communities. Cumulative project value across my years in residential real estate and masterplanned communities approaches $1 billion. I look forward to harnessing this experience to its fullest potential as I devote my life to EarthSong and amplifying its impact.
As CEO of The Cape on Bowen Community Development, I completed a 19-year, 618-acre project, transferring hundreds of acres from the private domain to the public domain. By cultivating values-aligned alliances with global leaders, and focusing on multilateral successes across all stakeholder groups, I sold nearly 300 acres at waterfront residential market value, proving that ecological preservation and economic viability can coexist. This outcome represented a complete paradigm shift from conventional residential development through openness, innovation, and collaboration.
As Co-Founder, Director and Vice President of Element Lifestyle Retirement, I conceived, designed, developed and operationalized the first intergenerational aging-in-place model in North America. My vision earned an international award among 950 retirement-focused projects assessed worldwide. Since 2019, my parents have resided in Opal by Element in Vancouver, where my mother, who has lived with Parkinson’s since 2008, thrives in a vibrant community where her neighbors are also her family. My mother’s remarkable experience living with Parkinson’s in this community validates a profound insight: compassionate connection fundamentally transforms the human experience and is critical to holistic wellbeing. It’s not the paid professional, physical care that is helping her most. Her quality of life and inner experience are enriched and uplifted by the people around her everyday – who see her, listen to her, understand her, encourage her, and who literally catch her when she falls. As my mother was my inspiration for Element’s intergenerational model of retirement living, she is also my inspiration for EarthSong Communities.
I serve as Chair of the BC & Yukon provincial board of the Heart & Stroke Foundation, a leading national non-profit, and Board Director of Community Evolution, a global non-profit that empowers local communities across 4 continents. My volunteer history began in my teenage years, with contributions to many healthcare organizations.
I am devoted to personal and spiritual development through daily mindfulness meditation, ceremony and connection to nature. I have raised Hayden, my now-teenage son, as a single mother since he was two years old, while building and nurturing businesses and communities. It is my interwoven personal and professional journey that drives my passion for fostering supportive, connected communities. Since he was five, my son has been deeply inquisitive about my work. I strive to create a lasting legacy not only through my professional contributions but also by modeling and nurturing his service-oriented heart, so that he, too, may build a life of meaning and fulfillment.
Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer
As Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of EarthSong Communities, James brings invaluable experience to the leadership…
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Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer
As Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of EarthSong Communities, James brings invaluable experience to the leadership team. With a background as Founder and President of rareEarth Project Marketing, as well as a past Regional Vice President of Intrawest Resorts, James has led the sales and marketing of over $2 billion in residential multifamily and resort communities across Greater Vancouver, Whistler, the Okanagan, Vancouver Island, and the USA. Throughout his career, he has achieved remarkable success, including record-breaking, single-day sell-outs of up to 250 homes valued at over $150 million.
He has played a pivotal role in pioneering innovative community marketing programs, such as marketing British Columbia’s first multifamily Passive House community. Additionally, he was instrumental in beta testing and launching Avesdo, now one of Canada’s leading transaction management software platforms. James also made significant contributions to shaping the resort condominium hotel and private residences fractional ownership models. James’ career has provided him the privilege of collaborating with some of the industry’s best developers, commercial lawyers, architects, interior designers, and creative branding teams.
At EarthSong, James drives corporate strategy and direction, ensuring the team remains focused on its core values, business plan, and growth objectives. On the development front, he oversees the acquisition and partnership of select development sites, market evaluations, masterplanned community designs, product mix, and real estate marketing and sales. His focus is on creating highly livable communities while ensuring a sustainable development pro forma.
While James’ experience in marketing and selling new home communities has been highly successful, it has also led to a realization – the work being done in the industry often misses a critical component of the community-building process. Traditional residential developments excel in designing, marketing, and building attractive communities. However, once the marketing presentation center is dismantled and residents move into their homes, the vibrant promise of community often fades. What remains are the four walls of their homes, a quiet elevator, and an empty fitness center. There’s a better way forward, but it requires a new model.
James co-founded EarthSong Communities driven by his belief that healthier, happier, and more engaged individuals can change the world. By thinking globally and acting locally, EarthSong aims to create communities that foster deep, meaningful connections amongst its residents. By doing so, we can help people and communities become stronger, more resilient, and better equipped to live their best lives—becoming leaders in our planet’s survival.
James leads an active life at home as a devoted husband to his wife, Paula, and a loving father to his children, Julia and Jeremy. He draws endless energy from nature, whether hiking in the forest or kayaking along the shoreline near his family retreat in Roberts Creek on the Sunshine Coast. As part of his commitment to environmental stewardship, James serves as an active Board Member for the BlueAct Marine Society in Gibsons, whose mission to inspire and educate the community to develop a deep love and connection with the oceans, while fostering coastal stewardship in the fight to preserve the beauty and wonder of our marine ecosystems.
Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer
Trini Chan, CA, CPA, CBV is a finance professional and real estate investor dedicated to building sustainable…
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Co-Founder and Chief Financial Officer
Trini Chan, CA, CPA, CBV is a finance professional and real estate investor dedicated to building sustainable, thriving communities. With over 15 years of expertise in corporate finance strategy and M&A, both locally and globally, she has played pivotal roles in structuring acquisitions, developing financial strategies, and guiding businesses toward long-term success.
As a founding partner of EarthSong Communities, Trini is committed to reshaping how people live, connect, and thrive. EarthSong envisions intergenerational residential communities designed to foster deep social connection and multidimensional wellness. Trini’s expertise in strategic business leadership, long-term growth planning, and executing visionary initiatives helps bring this vision to life—creating developments that are not just homes, but ecosystems where people thrive through purposeful living.
In addition to her finance career, Trini has been actively investing in real estate, gaining hands-on experience in property development, market analysis, and strategic investment planning. With a deep understanding of both finance and real estate, she bridges the gap between financial sustainability and community-driven development.
With a strong background in financial stewardship and strategic execution, Trini ensures that EarthSong’s projects are both financially sound and socially impactful. She is passionate about leveraging finance and real estate as tools for creating meaningful, lasting communities.
As a working mom of two young children, Trini deeply understands the importance of having a strong village. Juggling career, family, and personal growth has reinforced her belief that no one should have to navigate life alone. Her vision for EarthSong is inspired by this—creating communities where people of all ages can support, connect, and truly thrive together.
Development Guru
Paul is a seasoned development professional with over 30 years’ experience. He has been responsible for the development…
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Development Guru
Paul is a seasoned development professional with over 35 years’ experience. He has been responsible for the development and construction of over 4,000 units of residential, resort and recreational properties including master planned and village centered resorts, luxury branded hotel/residences, condominiums, condo-hotels, town homes, mixed use projects, and community housing.
With EarthSong Communities, Paul provides oversight to our corporate team to study, assess, plan, market and execute on the company’s various multiplex, mixed use and multifamily development communities.
Previously, as a Senior Vice President with Intrawest Placemaking and Ledcor Development, and recently as Chief Development Officer of Replay Destinations, Paul has been responsible for leading the successful planning and delivery of a large portfolio of world class development projects across North America and Internationally.
Outside of work, Paul and his wife Andrea are strong advocates for supporting charitable endeavors and founded the Koru Pacific Foundation in 2021. The Foundation is committed to helping children and families with access to food, shelter, education and healthcare both locally and internationally.
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