Matthew R. Putts, Ph.D.

Biography

Matthew R. Putts, Ph.D., is Chief of Rehabilitation Services at Kincaid Wolstein Vocational and Rehabilitation Services, where he supervises the vocational and life care planning expert witness teams and mentors new experts. He has held a number of positions at KWVRS, including having served as the firm's first Chief Operating Officer. Dr. Putts is also the Chief Executive Officer and a founding partner of KWVRS's sister company, Wolstein Putts Expert Consulting. 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, medical history, and medical needs for vocational, life care planning, and loss of household services reports. He testifies at deposition and trial in these areas. In addition to his forensic work, Dr. Putts also provides clinical mental health and career counseling. Dr. Putts holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Rehabilitation Counseling and Administration from East Carolina University, a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling from Rutgers University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Colgate University. He is a New Jersey Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Rehabilitation Counselor, a National Certified Counselor, a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and a Certified Vocational Evaluation Specialist, and holds the International Psychometric Evaluation Certification. The Rutgers University School of Health Professions Alumni Association gave him its Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2021. Before joining KWVRS full-time in 2023, 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 late 2025 through early 2026. 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 as well as its Disability Committee. 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.