Carolyn Long

Growing up in Penticton, British Columbia I was a horse and animal-obsessed kid who always envisioned my career as a veterinarian. As time went on, I realized that helping people was the direction I wanted to go and knew that I needed to find a way to do that within an employment capacity so that I could dedicate my career to helping others. This journey brought me out to the University of Calgary, where I completed a degree in Community Rehabilitation and Disability Studies.

Since completing my degree, I have been steadily building my career in Calgary and the surrounding area around a passion for supporting young adults with disabilities to find their place in the world. It is so important to me to be a leader that treats people with kindness and respect. I had the honour of working alongside a colleague over the past several years who shared a common vision of creating an organization that goes back to our roots to focus on real life experiences for young adults. The idea for Summit Collective Community Services began to take shape throughout 2020, and by 2022 we knew that we were heading in the right direction with a focus on community connection, inclusion – and of course – a little sense of adventure!