Our Story

Creative Cultivators did not begin as a case management agency or a direct support provider. It began with a question that has continued to guide every step of our journey:

Who are we outside the systems that define us?

While studying Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Marjorie co-founded Creative Roots, a creative writing program within the Santa Cruz County Jail. Together they created space for individuals preparing for release to reflect on their lives, explore their identities beyond incarceration, and imagine who they wanted to become beyond the influences and structures that had shaped their past.

Marjorie later managed a 515 day program called the Claraty Arts Project, where artists explored identity, built community with each other, and challenged the narratives that had defined them. 

Creative Cultivators was founded as an Independent Facilitation agency to help individuals and families navigate California's Self-Determination Program and build support systems that reflected their own goals and values. As the needs of the communities we served evolved, so did our work.

Today, Creative Cultivators includes specialized case management, individualized recruitment, and Tailored Life Services—our relationship-centered direct support model that blends Supported Living Services and Tailored Day Services into flexible supports built around each person's unique life.

Although our services have expanded, the question has remained the same:

How do we help people explore, express, and build lives that reflect who they are and who they wish to become?

That question continues to shape every service we provide, every relationship we build, and every decision we make as an organization.

Our Philosophy

We believe every person possesses inherent worth, the capacity for growth, and the right to shape their own life.

We believe that informed choices emerge through knowledge, trust, and relationships—not through control or compliance. We recognize that every person's life is influenced by families, communities, opportunities, environments, and systems. While we cannot remove barriers, we can help people understand those realities, strengthen the relationships that sustain them, and build supports that reflect the lives they choose to live.

Support is more than providing services. It is creating conditions where people can discover who they are, express themselves authentically, develop meaningful relationships, contribute their gifts, and participate in their communities.

We believe our strongest communities are built through a diversity of experiences, perspectives, talents, and ideas. Every person has something to teach, something to learn, and something valuable to contribute.

Our responsibility is not to define success for another person, but to walk alongside them as they pursue it for themselves.

Our Vision

To cultivate communities where people with disabilities, their families, and support teams have the knowledge, relationships, and resources needed to build meaningful lives on their own terms.

We believe informed choice, deep and trusting relationships, compassionate support, and lifelong learning create the conditions for growth, belonging, generosity, and self-determination.

We recognize that people encounter barriers within systems, environments, and communities. We work to understand those realities while preserving dignity, individuality, choice, and full participation in community life.

We believe policies, procedures, and professional standards exist to protect dignity, strengthen relationships, and promote ethical practice—not simply to demand compliance. Lasting growth emerges through trust, safety, curiosity, collaboration, and a shared commitment to understanding one another.

We hold ourselves to high standards of professionalism and accountability while recognizing that every person—including ourselves—remains capable of learning, adapting, and flourishing.

Our Values

Relational Support. We ask not only what we are doing, but what our work is doing for the people we serve.

Informed Choice. Our role is to provide knowledge, guidance, and support so people can make decisions that reflect their own values, goals, and aspirations.

Growth Through Reflection. We practice humility, curiosity, self-reflection, and continuous learning in service of stronger communities and better outcomes.

Compassion With Accountability. We pair empathy with honesty, responsibility, and clear expectations, believing that compassion and accountability strengthen one another.

Collaboration Over Division. Families, professionals, and communities each bring unique knowledge and perspectives. We build bridges between people, recognizing that our strongest communities are created through shared purpose rather than separation.