Carol Colton and her husband lived and worked in Massachusetts for 38 years. After raising their family, moved to Portland 12 years ago and love everything about Portland and Maine. Carol retired 6 years ago from a 35+ year career in insurance as a personal account manager, and loved the opportunity it gave her to interact with, and provide service to, her clients. Coming from a family that was always active in community service (including her Dad, a life long Rotarian), after retiring, she was looking for a way to give back to the community. Hearing about the growing movement for seniors to age in place, and knowing Maine has a large percentage of seniors, Carol was thrilled to be part of the steering committee to develop Portland Area Villages, an initiative to help neighbors age safely and securely in their homes. As a Vice president of Operations and Treasurer, she spreads her passion for this program wherever she can. Carol also serves on the Board of Directors of Back Cove Neighborhood Association and coordinates Shoveling for Seniors in Back Cove.

The mission of Portland Area Villages is to support, educate, and empower seniors in the greater Portland area who wish to remain living in their own homes as long as possible, allowing them to maintain active, social, safe, and independent lives. This will be accomplished with a multi-faceted approach which will include volunteers who will provide services to members, establishing a vetted network of professional providers from which members may draw, providing a comprehensive list of established community services available to members, and enabling social connections and activities for members and volunteers.