Lieutenant Commander Baldwin was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where he was Valedictorian of his high school class, an All-American swimmer, and was the ESPN national scholar/athlete of the year in 1995. After receiving a full Navy ROTC scholarship to Duke University, he chose to attend the prestigious school and pursue a pre-med curriculum. Baldwin swam as a varsity athlete throughout his undergraduate career and graduated with honors as a student-athlete in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and was commissioned into the United States Navy. Baldwin pursued his dream of becoming a physician, by enrolling and completing medical school at the University of California - San Francisco School of Medicine. After graduating in 2003, Baldwin completed a year internship in General Surgery at Naval Medical Center San Diego, and went on to serve his operational duty in the Navy as an Undersea Medical Officer.
He completed Navy Dive School and Undersea medical training and spent a three-year tour in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii with Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit ONE. While stationed in Hawaii, Dr. Baldwin deployed to the Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Singapore, Cambodia, and the Republic of Palau on various diving, recovery and humanitarian missions.
Upon moving to California, Baldwin took up cycling, and with his past running and swimming prowess was able to put them all together in a sport new to him - triathlon. He completed his first triathlon in 2001 with Team in Training, combining sport and charity for the first time, and finished atop the podium. He was hooked. Baldwin achieved his childhood dream in 2002 when he qualified for and completed the Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Hawaii. Baldwin has since been named to the All-Navy Triathlon Team five times, been a three time U.S.A. Triathlon All-American, and competed internationally in numerous Half-Ironman and Ironman events. He is an eight-time Ironman finisher, and believes firmly in the motto "Anything is Possible!"
Among his numerous acknowledgements, Dr. Baldwin has been honored on the Washington D.C. Most Influential People under 40 list in 2009, and Outside Magazine's Top 100 Influential People of the World list in 2006 for the humanitarian work he did in Laos on a military mission where he treated over 600 Laotians in remote villages.
Baldwin has been featured in numerous media outlets including Men’s Health Magazine, GQ Magazine, Runners World, and Triathlete Magazine. His television appearances are extensive including interviews on Good Morning America, The View, and FOX News as well as a special guest appearance on ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Dr. Baldwin was also the star of ABC hit show, “The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman”.
While serving as a Navy doctor, he remains active in his athletic and charitable pursuits.
 Baldwin is founder of the Got Your Back Network, a 501(c)(3) foundation. The goal of Andy's organization is to provide the children of our country's fallen soldiers the opportunity to intimately interact with our country's most talented leaders. Through diverse coordinated events along with one on one interactions with corporate executives, politicians, professional athletes, and entertainers, The Got Your Back Network provides the avenue for the children of the fallen to learn and be inspired by the most successful leaders of our generation.
Andy is joined on his Executive Board by former Congressman Robert Walker (R-PA), widows Ursula Bowen, Barbara Allen and Patti Stubenoffer, and other Board Members who represent an impressive mix of individual talents and professional backgrounds which enable them to provide governance of the highest quality. The Got Your Back Network also understands the necessity of providing these children with the opportunity to fulfill their individual dreams.
The Got Your Back Network has relationships with Fortunate 500 companies, professional sports teams, Hollywood and Capitol Hill. In the last year the foundation has created and has been involved in events with the New Jersey Nets, Disney World and the GI film festival. During the summer Andy's foundation will be collaborating on an event with OSU Tours at NASCAR's Texas Motor Speedway. Capitalizing on the extensive networks created by the founder, and leadership of the foundation, within the entertainment and professional sports industries, The Got Your Back Network will organize special events and mentorship activities.
As Andy's foundation grows, his vision is to meet the specific dreams of each child. To maintain our success, The Got Your Back Network relies on corporate sponsorships, individual donations, grants from foundations, business services, product donations and members promoting the work of The Got Your Back Network.
Lieutenant Commander Baldwin has also continued to be increasingly involved with domestic and global humanitarian projects. He used his medical and Spanish language skills this summer aboard USNS COMFORT as part of Continuing Promise 2009 delivering care to those in need in Central and South America. In May of 2010 Andy and 17 others with Team World Vision completed the 56 mile Comrades Ultramarathon in South Africa in the process securing sponsorship for over 1000 vulnerable and impoverished children throughout South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia.
|
