She also serves as the Assistant Director for Training in the VCU Autism Center for Excellence. In her roles, she leads multiple state-wide initiatives including coordinating coursework in Applied Behavior Analysis, development and implementation of a large scale professional development initiative for paraprofessionals, the development and implementation of a tiered model of support for communication and social skills for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for school districts, and co-leading an initiative for administrators to support teachers working with students with ASD, among other initiatives. Dr. Layden has presented at regional, state, and national conferences on topics related to ASD and other disabilities.