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 #4: Professor Danie Weaver.

By DeAnna Pursai • March 16, 2026
Danielle Weaver was a beloved Professor, Director of the School of Communications, and Scheduling Manager at College of Adaptive Arts for the past 13 years. She was a shining light and constant source of positivity, joy, and connection at our college. Danie joined CAA’s team soon after she watched her sister perform a CAA puppet show at Abilities Expo in downtown San Jose. The smile, joy, and encouragement she gave her sister made her a natural fit to be a professor at College of Adaptive Arts. Danie started teaching classes with overflowing love and commitment to her beloved Cardinals while we were holding them all over town, without an anchor campus site. She rose quickly to the role of lead professor while helping develop a brand-new School of Communications, and then became the Director of that foundational school of study in 2015. She created one of the most impactful nights in CAA’s history – the inaugural Communications Showcase - held at the Corinthian Center in downtown San Jose. That was such a special night, spent celebrating the abilities of our students and faculty and enjoying the spoken and signed words. She graciously mentored our staff member, Professor Anthony, to take over the role of the directorship of the School of Communications when she embraced our expansion challenges, providing cornerstone contributions through additional managerial roles. Danie will be forever remembered and celebrated for her kind spirit, her acknowledgement to "Always Honor the Introverts," her calm, non-judgmental demeanor, and the grace she extended to everyone. It was almost impossible not to be put in a good mood around Professor Danie – she just radiated joy, faith, and hope. She would often say that if you walked through her classroom, you might be inserted into a poem or story with the students. We also fondly retain her passions for fantasy tales and all things Disney. We could always look forward to enjoying such themes together in shared class experiences and personal conversations. Danie was an accomplished author and poet who had published her own book back book, Catching Teardrops – a personal collection of poetry created during and about her journey with cancer just one year after her marriage. We lost her way too soon from this disease at way too early of an age. She impacted so many lives and was a true 'Mountain Mover' within her school and community. She will forever remain a beloved and cherished core member of our College of Adaptive Arts Super Staff.

Where the System Ends, CAA Begins. We Built the College We Couldn't Find. Story #3: ED Nicole & her son Said

By Nicole Kim • March 9, 2026
When my son, Saïd, was born, we discovered he had Down syndrome. I was 21 years old at the time, and I hadn’t done prenatal testing because it was considered a “low-risk” pregnancy. Suddenly I found myself sitting in doctors’ offices and hearing professionals describe what they believed his future would look like. “He may never learn to read.” “His learning will likely plateau around age four.” “It’s unlikely he will live an independent life.” Those are frightening things to say to a young mother. Thankfully, I didn’t believe them. Instead, I chose to raise my son with the expectation that he would learn , would grow , and would live as full a life as he was capable of living . And he did. When the College of Adaptive Arts started in 2009, Saïd was 19—just the right age for college. We became part of the CAA community and never left. He took classes, performed in the community, and truly blossomed as a young man. Along the way he discovered that he loves theater. He also loves to sing. Don’t give him a microphone—you may never get it back. 🙂 Today, at 35 years old, Saïd lives with a roommate and a caregiving couple. He has a vibrant, joyful, independent life. And he still loves taking classes every semester. My own journey with CAA has been equally meaningful. For most of those years, I was a parent in the community. I soon joined the Board and became a professor. I taught classes like Speaking with Confidence and Joy of Baking , and eventually stepped into the role of Executive Director. But the belief that first guided me as a young mother has never changed. The belief I had in Saïd’s ability to learn, grow, and build a meaningful life is the same belief I hold for every student who walks through the doors of the College of Adaptive Arts. And something remarkable happens when you lead with that belief. Students rise to meet it. When we expect growth, they grow. When we expect contribution, they contribute. When we expect full lives, they build them. At CAA, we don’t define our students by limitations. We define them by possibility. And every semester, they remind us that possibility is far greater than anyone once imagined. -- Nicole Kim Executive Director College of Adaptive Arts

Where the System Ends, CAA Begins. We Built the College We Couldn't Find. CAA Story #2: Dr. Pamela Lindsay

By DeAnna Pursai • March 2, 2026
The Ties That Bind

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