After earning a degree in neuropsychology in her home state of New Jersey and being a professional dancer for 10 years, Amanda came to Colorado looking for a fresh start.
As a young girl, Amanda helped care of her beloved grandmother after she was diagnosed with dementia. She admired her grandmother’s therapist and knew that she would like a career helping seniors someday. When she moved to Colorado, Amanda worked as a life enrichment coordinator at other communities in the area but none of them were the exact fit she was looking for in her career.
“I worked for private senior living companies and was feeling a little burned out. I applied to Golden West looking for something different and found the culture so much better, not profit driven. It’s very resident driven, which I love,” Amanda says.
As the Director of Resident Programs, a typical day for Amanda involves a lot of back and forth between the assisted living community in The Mezzanine and the independent living community in The Towers overseeing exercise classes and other community events. She loves spending time chatting with residents to hear their ideas and desires when it comes to activities and programs and fills the activity calendar with what they like to do.
“I want to create an environment that nurtures residents to live independently but also be very supportive of each other and have a resident-led community in all aspects,” Amanda says.
As a former ballerina Amanda enjoys coaching and choreographing the Golden Girls dance group and is looking forward to when they return to rehearsing and performing later this summer. She makes sure that everyone who wants to can participate in the group, regardless of their physical capabilities.
When she is not working Amanda and her husband (her best friend in middle school and high school sweetheart) love training and hiking with their rescue dog and supporting her niece’s soccer team. They are also big fans of game night with friends.