Bay Area Non-profit Leader Named as a 2024 AARP Purpose Prize® Award Fellow

Michael Reisman • September 26, 2023

College of Adaptive Arts Co-founder Dr. Pamela Lindsay Recognized for Her Efforts in Providing Higher Education to Adults with Disabilities

 


WASHINGTON – Today, AARP announced its 2024 AARP Purpose Prize Award recipients. The one-of-a-kind national award honors people age 50-plus who have proven that they are using their knowledge and life experience to make a difference. Five AARP Purpose Prize Winners who have founded a non-profit will receive $50,000 for their organization. In addition, 10 AARP Purpose Prize Fellows and their organizations will be recognized with an award of $10,000. All award recipients will also receive a year of technical support to help broaden the scope of their organization’s work.

 

Dr. Pamela Lindsay, co-founder of the College of Adaptive Arts, was recognized as one of 15 non-profit founders chosen throughout the country who are giving back to their communities.  

 

College of Adaptive Arts (CAA), a Bay Area based educational non-profit, is an organization providing collegiate education to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It centers on the concept of lifelong learning and serves more than 224 adult students across 9 states.

 

CAA was co-founded by Dr. Pamela Lindsay and DeAnna Pursai in 2009 after both witnessed loved ones with special needs become sidelined once they exited the public-school system. The organization is the first of its kind to receive state authorization to provide these services to the many adults in California and beyond who need them. 

 

 

“Our Purpose Prize winners and fellows are shining examples of a simple, yet profound truth: When we find our sense of purpose—that certain something that gives us a reason to get up and get going every day—we not only give meaning to our own lives; we make the world a better place for everyone,” said AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins.

 

The philosophy of CAA is to offer lifelong learning, with no age limitations, to any adult with a disability who wants to pursue higher education. CAA’s ultimate goal is to be able to expand its innovative collegiate model, replicating it on every campus of higher learning across the country, and eventually, the world.

 

Alongside the Purpose Prize winners and fellows, AARP is presenting award-winning actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise with an honorary Purpose Prize Award for his founding and leadership of the Gary Sinise Foundation. Founded in 2011, the Gary Sinise Foundation honors military members, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need.

 

“I am so honored to be recognized as an AARP Purpose Prize® Award Fellow,” said Dr. Pamela Lindsay. “I know firsthand that the pursuit of our dreams and passions are not limited by the number of birthdays we celebrate. CAA is rooted in the knowledge that continued learning and related community contribution at any age increases personal purpose, life satisfaction, and success.”

 

The AARP Inspire Award will also return for its third year. Starting today, the general public will have the opportunity to vote at aarp.org/InspireAward for the AARP Purpose Prize Winner that they would like to win the AARP Inspire Award, which grants the recipient an additional $10,000 for their organization. The AARP Inspire Award recipient will be announced during an in-person celebration honoring all recipients in Washington, D.C. on October 25, 2023.

 

The 2023-2024 AARP Purpose Prize winners are:

Ken Falke – Bluemont, Virginia – Boulder Crest Foundation

Peter Jensen, M.D. – Little Rock, Arkansas – The REACH Institute

Janice Malone – Mobile, Alabama – Vivian's Door

Don Schoendorfer – Irvine, California – Free Wheelchair Mission

Laura Stachel, M.D. – Berkeley, California – We Care Solar

 

The 2023-2024 AARP Purpose Prize fellows are:

Julie Clugage – Menlo Park, California – Team4Tech Foundation

Shana Erenberg – Skokie, Illinois – Libenu

Lee Ann Kline – Huntington Beach, California – STEM Advantage

Scarlett Lewis – Newtown, Connecticut – Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement

Pamela Lindsay – Saratoga, California – College of Adaptive Arts

Geeta Mehta – New York, New York – Asia Initiatives

Maura O’Malley – Pelham, New York – Lifetime Arts, Inc.

Rob Perez – Lexington, Kentucky – DV8 Kitchen Vocational Training Foundation

Ming-Ming Tung-Edelman – Seattle, Washington – Refugee Artisan Initiative

Renita White – Chicago, Illinois – Of Color Inc.



ABOUT THE COLLEGE OF ADAPTIVE ARTS:

College of Adaptive Arts is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to providing a lifelong, equitable collegiate experience to adults with special needs who historically have not had access to college education. The vision of CAA is to empower adults with special needs to creatively transform perception of disability. This is an institution of higher education where adults have opportunities to learn from a diverse and rich curriculum that will enable them to live a full and empowered life as successful, contributing members of the community. For more information, or to volunteer and/or donate visit https://www.collegeofadaptivearts.org/


Where the System Ends, CAA Begins. We Built the College We Couldn’t Find. CAA Story #10: Ann Lunt

By DeAnna Pursai • April 27, 2026
When Ann Lunt was recovering from foot surgery two years ago, she came across a story about CAA on Channel 7’s “Localish” TV show and she immediately knew it was a place where she belonged. “I love CAA,” Ann said. “Everyone is really friendly and the teachers understand us.” Ann has lived on her own for 20 years and navigates to and from campus by herself. In 2002, she went deaf but was able to get a cochlear implant in 2003 which now helps her hear, however the hearing loss still affects her speech. Despite that, or maybe because of it, Ann’s favorite thing is singing and music. Some of the CAA classes which she enjoys are Adaptive Guitar, Choir, and Music Appreciation. One of her goals is to get into the Songwriting class and learn how to write a song. At age 57, Ann is proof that you never stop learning and growing. “In this world, we need to learn as much as we can,” Ann said. Ann is extremely compassionate and had the idea during Compassion Week to make video messages for foster youth. Growing up in group homes for nearly 15 years, Ann could relate to those experiencing the foster care system and wanted to reach out to them. One of the things Ann loves most about CAA is socializing and making friends. “I’m proud that I have friends who I can talk to,” Ann said. “We have each other’s backs and all root for one another.” Ann is excited to continue her learning journey and hopes that one day she might become an Associate Professor at CAA.

Where the System Ends, CAA Begins. We Built the College We Couldn’t Find. CAA Story #9: CAA Steadfast Mountain Mover Joe Siecinski

By DeAnna Pursai • April 20, 2026
This is a blog post that is most unexpected and heart-wrenching for our College of Adaptive Arts Mountain Movers community. This past week we lost one of our truest and long-standing Mountain Mover board members, Mr. Joseph Siecinski. Joe walked into our small, rented space at Randol School in 2010. He was in a full suit and tie (which we later would learn that he wore everyday). He politely introduced himself to Dr. Pam and DeAnna. De and Pam were teaching about 90% of the classes at this time, and we may have had about 30 adult students. He asked what was College of Adaptive Arts, and when we explained that we were creating an adaptive collegiate experience for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, he did not blink and eye, and said, “How can I help?” To say that there would not be a College of Adaptive Arts without Joe Siecinski would truly not be an understatement. He quickly joined our board, giving guidance and financial and business support with all of his heart and soul. He helped us to write our very first business plan, which as we look back on now, we achieved within the first 10 years of operation. He formally left the board in 2021 after 8 years of formal service. He stayed on to this day for our regular board meetings, executive board meetings, and monthly financial meetings. He believed in this model through thick and then when it seemed sooooo difficult and tempting to give up. Joe never did. Joe was a most magnanimous, kind, and larger-than-life figure. He *always* told the truth and never glossed over any hard financial findings– but with kindness, integrity, and humility. Through his constant presence CAA has grown operationally that first year in 2009 closing the books at about $65k to closing at over $2million this past fiscal year on June 30, 2025 with another 2 million grant bestowed to us in 2023. When he commended the CAA team on their collective efforts, teamwork, and fiduciary stability this past year at a board meeting, it was a compliment that was genuine and tremendously valued and cherished coming from Mr. Joe. Joe would start any meeting he would attend with, “Happy Monday!!!!!!! or whatever day of the week it was. He made you feel like you were the most important person on Earth to him when he was with you. And his was so positive, knowledgeable, wise, and kind. He just exuded grace, integrity, and hope. Joe was the one who recommended that we read the book Traction by Gino Wickman back in 2019. CAA embraced the tenets and business principles of this book, and it’s been a transformative experience for our business execution. To this day, our staff huddles that we employ each Monday morning before school begins are called the Traction Huddles. Joe would always say that if CAA could bring in $1 for every $1 in tuition, we would be in a financially sustainable position. This is the year that we’re going to honor Joe and bring this sentiment into operational fruition. CAA has been operating in a structural deficit for a number of years now as the demand for our services has outpaced the one and only state funding code that did not pass the rate reform study. There’s significant community and policy momentum and traction to rectify this deficit, and our Q4 fundraising campaign is dedicated to Joe Siecinski. CAA will embrace his spirit and figure out a way to build a sustainable recurring model to reach adults worldwide who want to learn and grow and contribute at their own unique and individual pace. It’s happening, and we vow to keep going until this equitable, lifelong collegiate and workforce model is fully established in communities worldwide to be a beacon of Hope, Joy, Fulfillment, and Traction. This is our Salute to Joe Siecinski.

Where the System Ends, CAA Begins. We Built the College We Couldn't Find. CAA Story #8: Professor Sharon Lea

By DeAnna Pursai • April 13, 2026
Sharon Lea has always had a love of music, but it wasn’t until joining CAA that she could actually meld both her passion and her career. Sharon obtained her degree in English from Chico State and worked most of her life in administrative roles. The companies she worked for made products like medical devices, and she always enjoyed customer service and helping people. After surviving a cancer diagnosis and losing her husband all within a three-year span, Sharon took time off work and began volunteering with CAA. That volunteer work quickly turned into a fulfilling career. CAA came into Sharon’s life at a time when she needed them, and when CAA needed instructors who had compassion and commitment to teach. “At CAA, you don’t need the degree but you need the heart,” said Sharon. Professor Sharon is the Director of Music at CAA and teaches many popular classes, including Concert Choir and Music Appreciation. In both those classes, she stresses to her students to find something that they like in the music and reminds them that it’s not about hitting all the right notes. “One of the reasons I love CAA is because I see the benefits of what I’m doing every day in the classroom,” said Sharon. When she was young, Sharon had to overcome a significant stutter so she can relate to the difficulties some of her students have with being heard and understood. Sharon says that she learns just as much from her students as they learn from her, and she loves coming away from classes hearing new perspectives and ideas. According to Professor Sharon, CAA is a unique place to work because the leadership puts people in positions where they can really thrive. “This has been such a wonderful growth experience for me,” said Professor Sharon. “I feel incredibly lucky to be a part of a supportive environment which celebrates caring and collaborative teamwork.”

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