Matthew R. Putts, Ph.D.

Biography

Matthew R. Putts, Ph.D., is Chief of Vocational Services at Kincaid Wolstein Vocational and Rehabilitation Services, where he supervises the vocational expert witness team, reviews vocational evaluation reports for quality assurance, mentors new members of the team and oversees the onboarding of new practices and their vocational staff. He first worked with KWVRS as a consulting vocational counselor and evaluator from 2020 to 2022, returned in 2023 as a forensic rehabilitation expert, served as Chief Operating Officer from 2024 to 2025 and has held the Chief of Vocational Services role since 2025. His forensic practice includes labor market surveys and job analysis reports, transferable skills analyses, vocational evaluations, diagnostic interviews for personal injury cases, and the assessment of vocational, educational, earnings and medical history for vocational reports. Dr. Putts holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Counseling and Administration from East Carolina University (2014), a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling from Rutgers University (2011) and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Colgate University (2007). He has been a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor since 2011, a Certified Life Care Planner since 2020, a holder of the International Psychometric Evaluation Certification and a Certified Vocational Evaluation Specialist since 2021, a New Jersey Licensed Rehabilitation Counselor since 2022, and a New Jersey Licensed Professional Counselor and a National Certified Counselor since 2023. The Rutgers University Alumni Association gave him its Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2021. Before rejoining KWVRS he led Employment Horizons, Inc., a nonprofit provider of vocational rehabilitation services, as Chief Executive Officer from 2016 to 2022 and served as Vice President of Government Affairs for ACCSES New Jersey from 2022 to 2023; he returned to Employment Horizons as interim Chief Executive Officer in 2025 at its board's request and now advises it as an executive consultant. He served the American Board of Vocational Experts as a Director-at-Large from April 2023 to March 2026, has sat on the executive committee of the New York State Bar Association Family Law Section since July 2025 and chairs the Workforce Development Board of Northwest New Jersey. His published work appears in the Journal of Counseling and Development, Schizophrenia Research and A Counselor's Guide to Career Assessment Instruments, and his presentations include continuing legal education programs for the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers and the Florida Bar.

Areas of Expertise

• Vocational Evaluation
• Life Care Planning
• Rehabilitation Counseling

Areas of Practice

Matthew works in these KWVRS service lines.

Education

• Doctor of Philosophy, Rehabilitation Counseling and Administration, East Carolina University (2014)
• Master of Science, Rehabilitation Counseling, Rutgers University (formerly the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey) (2011)
• Undergraduate Certificate, Spanish for Healthcare Professionals, University of Central Missouri (2024)
• Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, Colgate University (2007)

Publications

• Recognizing trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms in individuals with psychotic disorders - Journal of Counseling and Development (2014)
• Life Centered Education Competency Rating Scale and Competency Assessment Batteries - A Counselor's Guide to Career Assessment Instruments, 6th ed. (book chapter) (2013)
• Post-traumatic reactions to psychosis in people with multiple psychotic episodes - Schizophrenia Research (2011)

Prior Testimony

Dr. Putts is a forensic rehabilitation expert on the KWVRS vocational expert witness team and supervises its members. His curriculum vitae records public testimony before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor, at a July 2021 joint hearing of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections and the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services on phasing out subminimum wages and supporting the transition to competitive integrated employment for workers with disabilities, and before the New Jersey Legislative Manufacturing Caucus in February 2018 on the projected impacts of a fifteen dollar minimum wage on community rehabilitation manufacturing programs.