A.J. Gottschalk grew up fishing every moment he could in Florida, primarily with his father, a U.S. Army Veteran.

After relocating to Buffalo, NY for graduate school, he also dove head-first into the fly fishing industry, first as a sales associate at Orvis and then deeper into product design, product testing, global manufacturing, and content creation for a number of brands for nearly fifteen years. It was during this period that A.J. first became a donor to Project Healing Waters, getting to experience first-hand how impactful the camaraderie and time spent outdoors and on the water, both of which are at the heart of PHW, could be.

A.J. joined Project Healing Waters in Febuary of 2023 to assist with Marketing and Development. He is deeply connected to the importance of the organization’s mission to build connections between not only Veterans, but volunteers and donors as well, and to raise further awareness for just how critical time in the outdoors with one’s peers can be for healing any and all wounds.

A.J. finds himself at home in the northeast highlands of Tennessee, near the South Holston and Watauga Rivers. He strives to find and hike to a new waterfall each weekend with his wife, a VA doctor, and young son.