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Brittany Amiss Dean
Animal Crew Leader and Life Skills Coach

Brittany’s first job at CooperRiis was administrative assistant but you should see her now...She is truly our own “Dr. Doolittle” and the CooperRiis mélange of animals have never had it this good.  She tenderly transfers her love for animals to our residents who often find solace and personal recovery working with them.  Our current “animal family” includes 4 miniature horses, 2 donkeys, a lot of sheep & babies, 4 lamas, 3 goats, 3 dogs, 4 cats, 6 rabbits, a few guinea pigs and a bunch of chickens from which we collect the eggs daily.

Brittany works with some of our most challenging residents, who need a great deal of encouragement. She has been able to reach some of these individuals who are often reserved or withdrawn by encouraging their care of our animals, who most often return their unquestioning affection to them. As the resident gains strength, he or she is then better able to develop peer relationships with people who are not always as the unquestioning members of our animal world.

Brittany has a BA in Business and Elementary Education from Warren Wilson College in North Carolina, where she met Ken Dean, our Clinical Assistant & Resident Services Coordinator.  They were married on May 20th, 2006 and are the proud parents of a baby girl.