Hometown: Aurora, Colorado

Interests: Splitboarding, Family Time, Surfing

Aaron was born profoundly deaf and adopted into a rural farm family in eastern North Carolina. His parents were told he'd never succeed in life. That he would end up growing up a different kind of deaf with Cued Speech as my primary mode of communication and that's remained one of his core identities with his ongoing projects and pursuits. Aaron ended up growing up on the coastal beaches of Wilmington, NC where he'd discover surfing. 

After four years studying meteorology and oceanography at North Carolina State University, Aaron took a different track and sailed into deaf education with a Masters from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He served a three year tour of duty in Aurora Public Schools. His daughter was born around that time and he took the chance to dive into part time work in the ski/snowboard industry where he did a mix of shop work, pass sales, and retail/boot fitting via Vail Resorts and Christy Sports. 

Aaron would go on to help develop Cue College (www.cuecollege.org), an online education platform, and support non-profit organizations through his company, Cue Cognatio. He currently works as Marketing & Outreach Coordinator at the Marion Downs Center, an audiology clinic and non-profit organization in Denver where he enjoys discovering ways to help raise awareness about hearing loss. 

Aaron has been split-boarding for over five years now and completed the AIARE recreational track three years ago. Split-boarding took over surfing as his primary athletic identity. He switched the extreme conditions of East Coast surfing for that of the Colorado alpine, and it's been an adventure to remember. 

He is also the proud father of a nearly 8 year old gymnast/snowboarder who has been shredding the love since she was two. Aaron's wife grew up skiing in Vermont and he's eager to get her back on the slopes this season after a hiatus since our daughter was born.

Follow his adventures on Instagram at @deafsplitboarder