DEANNA PURSAI is Executive Director and Co-Founder of CAA. She holds a Master’s in Policy Analysis in the School of Education from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her undergraduate degree in Elementary and Special Education from Purdue University. DeAnna was recently named an Architect of Change on the Maria Shriver blog and co-awarded the Delta Kappa Gamma State Distinguished Career/Professional Service Award with CAA’s Co-Founder and Dean of Instruction, Pamela Lindsay. DeAnna is also a part-time Intervention Specialist at Los Alamitos Elementary School in San Jose Unified. She is active in the downtown Rotary, the Silicon Valley Organization, Center of Excellence in Nonprofits, and she a board member of Christmas in the Park. She is also big sister to Angel Ellenberger, who happens to have Down syndrome and is an exquisite actress, entertainer and comedian. DeAnna aspires to become a children’s musician, having her college students join her on the road to share the joy of music in schools and communities.