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.

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When Samuel Hinojosa first discovered his passion for videography and the performing arts, a passion he says is in his genes because he has family who are also in the arts, participating in theater productions and expressing himself through dance became a part of his daily routine. But when he turned 22, he suddenly aged out of the programs he had come to love, leaving a gap in both his routine and his creative outlet. That’s when a chance meeting completely changed his life. Samuel was in an Angels on Stage production when he just so happened to meet DeAnna Pursai and Dr. Pamela Lindsay in the audience. Realizing he was about to age out of Angels on Stage, they encouraged him to explore the opportunities available to him at CAA. Their guidance led him to finding a new beginning. At CAA, Samuel quickly found a place where he could continue to grow creatively. He enrolled in videography, acting, and dance classes, reconnecting him with his passion for performing. After taking many performing arts classes, Samuel started exploring what other classes CAA had to offer. He has joined the CAA Go Green Climate Action Class, where he did a phenomenal presentation on UNESCO and how climate change is impacting his native roots community in Mexico. Now in his second semester at CAA, Samuel has expanded his interests beyond just the stage and production lens. He’s developed an interest in bodybuilding and nutrition, exploring what those classes can teach him and how he can use that new confidence to improve his life. CAA’s supportive environment has allowed Samuel to continue exploring his passions, while also discovering new ones. It doesn’t matter if he is behind the camera, performing, or focusing on his health and fitness goals, CAA is constantly pushing Samuel to try new things and grow. For Samuel, CAA is not just a place for him to take classes, it is a community where he can express himself, try new things, and keep moving forward. — Written by Nina Pal Volunteer

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