Dr. Aaron DeSpain is originally from Washington, where he earned his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Central Washington University in 1995. He relocated to Florida in 2000 and completed his MBA degree at the University of South Florida from 2002 to 2005. At USF, Dr. DeSpain was a recipient of the Don Miller Scholarship award and participated in two study abroad programs, traveling throughout Wales, Belgium, Netherlands, France and Spain. Dr. DeSpain earned his doctorate degree from Jacksonville University in 2019 as a member of the school's third DBA cohort. He served as a Graduate Assistant for the DBA program in each of his three years in the program. 

Prior to his doctoral work, Dr. DeSpain spent 17 years in the financial services industry working for two major banks and their brokerage affiliates, primarily in Wealth Management (Private) Banking, where he held Series 7 and 63 investment licenses. In 2013, he completed the requirements for the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) financial planning designation. He started as an adjunct instructor with St. Petersburg College in Fall 2011 and transitioned to a full-time professor in Fall 2017. Dr. DeSpain has taught a variety of finance, investment and banking courses at SPC.