The Mountain is Moving at College of Adaptive Arts

February 16, 2022

This has been such a transformative and pivotal time at College of Adaptive Arts. We recently created a new organizational chart from the ground up to aspire to achieve 2 million Sustainable/Operational budget & then future-goal-setting of that next expanded structure to support a $5 million sustainable/replicable operational budget. We were able to double our small and mighty management team from a founding team of 2 to the Fierce Four who are working meticulously behind the scenes to bring this innovative lifelong collegiate model to full fruition.


The CAA Mountain Movers board recently launched a ReGroup & Grow campaign to get CAA staff input to help us lay a solid foundation. We are building a robust pipeline of how to expand our onboarding process to bring to the right people who can teach more classes of interest and will maintain the highest expectations for our adult college students who have so much intellect, critical inquiry, & contributions for our community.


CAA has now reached out and has received full or courtesy vendorization in 7 of the 21 Regional Centers around the state of CA. Our goal is to outreach to the rest and to have those Regional Centers help us reach more eager adults out there who have historically not had access to college education. The Mountain Movers board has established Task Forces on Accessibility, Community College Partnerships, Grants & Underwritings, Marketing, and new draft legislation around ensuring an online learning option is here to stay & potential new codes supporting lifelong education for adults with intellectual differences.


We are up to 171+ adult lifelong learners at our first CAA Swenson West Valley College flagship site and in our online learning community. We don’t plan to stop until we reach every adult out there around the world who has been shut out of a traditional .edu collegiate experience. The path forward is through Inclusive Collegiate Partnerships fostering mutually beneficial programs and opportunities that will benefit both programs as well as the community at large. It is possible and the future looks a bit brighter each and every day. We are deeply grateful for the ever-expanding community who is jumping in to help Move this Mountain for these precious and eager adult lifelong learners. It feels amazing, and on behalf of the entire College of Adaptive Arts Mountain Movers Learning Family- we thank you and ask you to join on this epic journey.

Where the System Ends, CAA Begins. We Built the College We Couldn't Find. CAA Story #13: Professor Anthony Nguyen

By DeAnna Pursai • May 18, 2026
CAA's Director of the School of Communications

Where the System Ends, CAA Begins. We Built the College We Couldn't Find. CAA Story #12: Student Andre C.

By DeAnna Pursai • May 11, 2026
At only 5 years old, Andre lost his parents and began a long and painful stay in the foster care system, not really having anyone to trust or love him. Eventually he started hanging out with the wrong people and faced his share of troubles. Being developmentally and physically disabled, people often took advantage of him or tried extorting him for money. He met two friends, Nancy and Kristin, through his church and they began helping Andre turn his life around.. Both women began helping Andre at first with essentials, making sure he got meals and into a safe housing situation. Nancy helped Andre get set with a bank account and taught him basic budgeting skills, while Kristin got him involved in stable social environments like College of Adaptive Arts. Now, at age 67, Andre is one of the oldest students currently enrolled in College of Adaptive Arts (CAA), a nonprofit providing higher education for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Every week, Andre looks forward to attending his Innercise class, which focuses on mindfulness, meditation and introspection. “The class helps me feel good about myself,” said Andre. “It helps me calm my mind.” According to Nicole Kim, Executive Director of College of Adaptive Arts, students like Andre who have been sidelined from traditional education are exactly who they are trying to reach. “Andre is proof that education has no expiration date,” said Nicole Kim, Executive Director of College of Adaptive Arts. “No matter your age or ability level, you are never too old to learn, grow and cultivate meaningful relationships” According to Nancy and Kristin, CAA has helped Andre further his education but also regain the trust to make friends and find a safe community of like-minded friends. “After our church closed, Andre really missed being able to share things with others that were important or special to him, and I think he’s found that at CAA,” said Nancy. Since meeting both women and attending CAA, Andre has said he has made the choice to change his life, and that he chooses “The New Andre” everyday.

Where the System Ends, CAA Begins. We Built the College We Couldn’t Find. CAA Story #11: Mimi Giannini and the Bill and Linda Giannini Family Foundation

By DeAnna Pursai • May 4, 2026

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