Taylor Chastain Griffin

Dr. Taylor Chastain Griffin is the National Director of Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI) Advancement at Pet Partners. In this role, she oversees the organizations’ empirical research collaborations and works with other field leaders to motivate standardization and professionalization of the intervention.

With a background as a dog trainer, therapy dog handler, and mental health counselor, Dr. Chastain Griffin came to her position with a variety of experiences that inform her work with Pet Partners. Having completed her doctorate in research psychology with a focus on the human-animal bond, she works to formally integrate expertise in the field of human services with best practices while working with therapy animals. Pet Partners is now creating services for professionals who aim to bring the human-animal bond to their vocational practice—an initiative that has been directed by various large-scale data collection projects and in collaboration with many of the field’s most influential leaders.

Dr. Chastain Griffin and her husband live in northeast Georgia with their seven dogs and three cats, whom they affectionally call the queens and kings of unconditional positive regard. Dr. Chastain Griffin’s empirical appreciation for human-animal interaction is matched by her personal and professional testimonies of how her animals have inspired countless meaningful interactions in their work as therapy animals.