Aaron Mertes
Assistant Professor, Ad Hoc Program Specialist,

Aaron is a Rehabilitation Counselor and a Certified life care planner and lives in Edgerton, WI with his wife, son, and two dogs.  He graduated with his master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from St. Cloud State University in 2015 and with his PhD in Counselor Education from The University of Iowa in 2019.  He began his professional career working with people with disabilities as a residential living staff, job coach, college readiness coach, paraprofessional in schools, a worker’s compensation evaluator, life care planner, and consultant to the VA.  As a mental health counselor he has worked as an inpatient therapist, outpatient counselor, college counselor, and a crisis counselor.  As a faculty he has worked on both state and national-level advocacy projects, including accreditation and licensing.  He is currently on the CACREP accreditation board and maintains a clinical practice. His research interests currently involve neurological and social attachment development through the lifespan, more specifically how disability affects identity development in adults.