Sarah Layden

Chief Operating Officer 


Sarah Layden is the Chief Operating Officer with Resilience. Since joining Resilience in 2008, Sarah has directly worked with and supervised the provision of advocacy services for thousands of survivors and their loved ones. In her current role, she oversees the administration of advocacy, trauma therapy and education training programs in partnership with Resilience program leadership, staff, interns and volunteers. She is a sought-after trainer, specializing in trauma-informed approaches to working with survivors in variety of institutional and legal settings. In 2014, Sarah also co-authored Resilience’s first training supplement for hospital emergency room staff. In recognition of her work on behalf of survivors of sexual violence, Sarah was chosen as a recipient for the 2010 Cook County State’s Attorney Office Victim Services Award and has been featured on CBS and NBC local and national news. Sarah is a long-time member of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault Public Affairs Committee, Mayor Lightfoot’s Gender-based Violence Strategic Plan Implementation Task Force, Office of the Cook County State’s Attorney Advisory Board on Sexual Assault, Coordinated Community Response Team at Northeastern Illinois University and Chicago Prevention Alliance. She attended DePaul University – College of Law where she earned her Juris Doctor in 2020, as well 60-hour sexual assault crisis intervention training, 40-hour Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner training for adults and pediatrics, 40-hour domestic violence training and advanced training on victim advocacy, stalking, sexual assault and domestic violence.