Aaron Schmerbeck, Ph.D.
Aaron is the founder and managing partner of ABLE Operations. He began his postsecondary education at St. John Fisher College, where he completed a double major in Economics and Mathematics. Aaron then went on to Florida State University, where he obtained a Master of Science in Economics and a Ph.D. in Economics focusing on financial economics and mathematics.
Aaron began his post graduate career at Freddie Mac in Mclean, VA as an Economist with the Multifamily Research and Model Development team. Here he was responsible for updating, running and maintaining the Multifamily Capital Costing model. During his tenure, he built economic models to assess risks in a multi-billion dollar commercial real estate portfolio, ranked and scored metropolitan statistical areas, and analyzed the housing market in a rent versus ownership index.
Following Freddie Mac, Aaron moved to Pensacola, Florida to pursue an academic and consulting role with the University of West Florida. As a Research Economist for UWF's Haas Center, he was a direct supervisor for ten staff members, ranging from Research Analysts to Information Technology specialists. Aaron was solely responsible for building and maintaining the quantitative models and providing analysis for each of the Center's projects. These projects included economic and fiscal impact, financial feasibility, workforce supply and demand, regional economic indicators and other ad hoc requests from the University or clients. In addition to consulting, Aaron has been and is currently an adjunct instructor at several institutions in the Florida State University System. He has taught several courses in both Economics and Finance.
In 2014, Aaron accepted a position as the Chief Economist at CareerSource Florida, the nonprofit, public-private policy and investment board of business and government leaders charged with guiding workforce development for the state of Florida. In this role, Aaron worked in the Strategic Policy and Performance unit, providing CareerSource Florida's leader and professional team with analyses to support the board's emphasis on data-driven decision-making, performance and outcomes. Aaron was instrumental in developing the state's federally funded performance funding model. This project included developing specific metrics to better align funding with the performance of regional workforce boards, along with monitoring and analyzing federal requirements, such as those mandated by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and its successor, the Workforce Investment Opportunity Act (WIAO). While at CareerSource Florida, Aaron was asked to serve as the labor subject matter expert on the Florida Chamber's Economist Panel.
In 2018, Aaron made the decision to create ABLE Operations, giving himself the flexibility to expand geographically and branch out to a more diverse clientele.
Aaron has significant expertise with workforce supply and demand assessment. This includes collaboration with regional organizations, including universities and colleges, chambers of commerce, training institutions, workforce investment boards, and economic development councils. Aaron uses mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) to examine whether gaps in the supply of regionally produced talent (degrees/certificates) meets the regional industry demand for a host of occupational skillsets. Given assessment outcomes, these assessments leverage relationships between local businesses, workforce development boards, government agencies and training/education institutions to address skills gaps and training shortages for target industries. This includes curriculum/program design and implementation, recruitment and the development of innovative public/private sector partnerships. These assessments include the use of focus groups, data sharing agreements and vision setting initiatives which have helped align economic, workforce and community development efforts with business, federal and state agencies, and training providers.
Additionally, Aaron has provided analysis on a wide range of topics, ranging from the economic impact of the Department of Defense in Florida to the fiscal impact a toll bridge may have on a local community. Aaron has created and maintained numerous models that range anywhere from forecasting University enrollment to Department of Defense procurement flows at the regional and state level. Through the process, Aaron has obtained significant experience working with national, state and county level economic and data sources. This includes not only Federal Government sources, but privates companies like EMSI, Chmura, and Moody's as well as DemongraphicNow. He is proficient at utilizing standard economic impact models including RIMS, REMI PI+ and IMPLAN.
For the past 8 years Aaron has enjoyed supporting Master's level students in Applied Economics at his alma mater, Florida State University. His role includes presenting as a guest lecturer, as well as providing assistance in utilizing economic models efficiently and judging the students' final presentations.
Aaron resides in Sarasota, Florida with his wife, three children and golden retriever. His hobbies include spending time with his children, enjoying the beautiful beaches Southwest Florida has to offer, golfing and watching college football (Go Noles!). He also serves on his neighborhood's HOA board.
Image courtesy of Nichole Niffenegger Photography
