Loren Jay Chassels is a physician, educator, and lifelong adventurer with a passion for both medicine and the outdoors. His journey began at Pine Hill Scout Reservation (1986–1990), where he taught wilderness survival and aquatic skills as a merit badge counselor, lifeguard, and camp commissioner. In 1988, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout and his Amateur Radio License, milestones that sparked his lifelong love of learning and service.

Throughout the 1990s, Dr. Chassels served his community as an Emergency Medical Technician and volunteer firefighter while completing degrees at Rutgers University (B.A., 1993) and Rowan University (M.S. in Teaching, 1995). He went on to teach high school math and science in Alaska and Connecticut before taking on his biggest personal challenge—thru-hiking the 2,160-mile Appalachian Trail in 1999.

In 2004, he earned his doctorate from A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, followed by an internal medicine residency in 2007. Now board-certified in internal medicine, he has practiced as a hospitalist and emergency physician for nearly two decades. In recognition of his expertise, he was awarded Fellowships in Wilderness Medicine (2023) and the American Academy of Internal Medicine (2024).