Kourtney Layton has worked in the field of Vocational Rehabilitation since 2006. In conjunction with placing individuals with disabilities in employment, she is a certified vocational expert with Social Security and an expert witness in family law, worker's compensation, employment and personal injury cases. Kourtney's additional areas of expertise include completing earning capacity assessments in family law venues, conducting labor market surveys, performing vocational assessments, vocational counseling, case management services and assessing loss of earning capacity in personal injury cases. She is also a Transition Specialist, where she assists persons with disabilities with transitioning from the school setting into the competitive labor market.
Kourtney earned her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Utah and completed her Master of Science degree in Rehabilitation Counseling at Utah State University on a full academic scholarship. She is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor, a Licensed Rehabilitation Counselor in the State of Utah, a Fellow with the American Board of Vocational Experts and has qualified for the International Psychometric Evaluation Certification (IPEC). She is also a Certified Vocational Evaluator (CVE) as well as a Certified Life Care Planner (CLCP).
Kourtney's vocational expertise is bolstered by her professional sports experience in arenas including fitness, bodybuilding (Figure division) and snowboarding. Other past jobs of interest include river guide, snowboard instructor, biology laboratory assistant and pharmaceutical laboratory assistant. Although she completes job analyses in all types of occupations on an ongoing basis, Kourtney has particularly enjoyed those performed within the action sports industry. Recent job analyses of note include skydiving, kite boarding (snow) and kayaking/river rafting.
Areas of research interest include vocational and behavioral implications of technology use, evaluating earning capacities for the self-employed worker, disability prevention, the effects of diet and exercise upon vocational and occupational health and the impact of COVID-19 upon the labor market and the world of work.