Sarah Kirk

Sarah is an expert in real estate, affordable housing, and economic development with over 14 years of experience, consulting on projects to create stronger, more prosperous, and more equitable communities. Her work combines data-driven analysis, policy insights, and purposeful engagement to deliver actionable advice for her clients.

Sarah has developed strategic plans for equitable economic development, designed analytical approaches to answer complex policy questions, coordinated planning efforts with community development organizations, and helped mission-driven clients evaluate real estate opportunities and feasibility.

She has worked in affordable housing as a consultant and a practitioner, leading the development of affordable housing plans and policy design, advising on approaches to mitigate displacement, supporting underwriting and funding applications for affordable housing development, and managing grant-funded programs for housing development and affordable homeownership.

Sarah holds a master’s degree in city and regional planning from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s degree in geography from Middlebury College.

Real Results

Sarah recently joined the Camoin Associates team. All of her featured projects were performed in previous roles.

Affordable Housing Plan | City of Charlottesville, VA | Sarah led work to develop a racial equity-focused affordable housing plan for the City of Charlottesville as a part of a broader comprehensive plan update. As part of this work, she and her team met regularly with a steering committee as well as housing advocates, service providers, real estate professionals, elected officials, and other community stakeholders to understand local and regional housing challenges and build support for proposed solutions.

Sarah managed an analytical team throughout the process. The plan outlined a range of policy updates to improve racial equity and regional collaboration in housing, as well as three major initiatives to dedicate funding, reorganize the City’s housing governance, and adopt zoning reforms to increase access to affordable housing.

Equitable Economic Development and Mobility Strategic Plan | City of Grand Rapids, MI | Sarah led analysis and strategic planning for the development of a plan to grow Grand Rapids’ economy and enhance access to opportunity for its residents as part of a combined planning effort to improve equitable outcomes for the City’s economy and transportation services.

As part of this work, Sarah facilitated interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders and met with a steering committee of community leaders. She worked with a team of analysts to understand trends in access to capital, employment, workforce development, income, industrial growth, and other demographic and economic indicators.

Sarah developed a strategic approach to economic development based on client-defined pillars and worked with the consulting team, the client, and the steering committee to refine initial recommendations and develop a roadmap for implementation.

Small Business Recovery Action Plan and Business Retention and Attraction Plan | City of Richmond, CA | In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sarah led a project to produce two planning documents to guide economic recovery and long-term growth. Sarah conducted an analysis to identify the likely impacts of the pandemic and related closures on Richmond’s economy and businesses and interviewed small business support organizations throughout the city to understand ongoing recovery needs, available services, and opportunities for partnership with the City.

Based on this work, Sarah led the production of a short-term plan for the City to help small and locally owned businesses recover. Alongside this effort, Sarah also oversaw a broader analysis of industry and workforce trends and developed a longer-term plan for business retention, attraction, and economic development.

Rent Stabilization Ordinance Study | County of Los Angeles, CA | Following the expiration of COVID-19-era eviction protections, Sarah led a team to produce a detailed analysis of trends in rent, operating expenses, renter incomes, and California rent stabilization policies. Building on this analysis, Sarah identified five potential policy approaches to regulating rent increases under the County’s ordinance and projected likely impacts to both property owners and renters in unincorporated Los Angeles County. This work provided elected officials with critical information to guide changes that better aligned the policy with market trends.

Anti-Displacement Strategy | City of Charlotte, NC | Sarah led a team to produce an anti-displacement strategy for the City of Charlotte, in collaboration with the City’s Neighborhood Equity and Stabilization (NEST) Commission. Sarah’s team conducted market research and stakeholder focus groups to diagnose drivers of displacement in Charlotte and identified policy approaches for the City to address these drivers directly as part of broader affordable housing efforts.