Team Member Spotlight: AJ Coval

For Senior Project Leader AJ Coval, engineering has always been about more than plans, permits, or technical solutions. It’s about people: colleagues, clients, and the communities that depend on reliable infrastructure. His story is a reminder that relationship-building isn’t a step in engineering; it’s the foundation.

AJ’s roots are in Hawk Run, Pennsylvania, a small town about forty minutes from State College. “It’s a small town. Lots of woods, lots of streams,” he says. He spent his days fishing, hunting, and playing baseball. Even then, he loved working with his hands. That led him to study carpentry at the Clearfield County Vo-Tech during high school—but he quickly realized he wanted to take that passion further.

“I decided that I could still do carpentry on my own, woodworking, but I really wanted to design bridges, design things,” AJ explains. That decision took him to Penn State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 1996. He passed his Professional Engineer exam to become licensed and became a certified bridge inspector a year later, credentials he still holds with pride.

Now empty nesters with 26-year-old twins, AJ and his wife Lisa have more time for travel, outdoor hobbies, and baseball. AJ spent several years coaching high school baseball and umpiring for the PIAA, staying connected to the sport that defined his childhood. “We have more time now to do things that we didn’t get to do when we’re running with sports and kids all over the place. But sometimes you look back and you miss those days.”

Over the years, AJ has built a reputation for leading with integrity, authenticity, and care. At JHA Companies, he oversees a team of engineers and CAD professionals, and mentoring his younger staff is one of the most rewarding parts of his job. “My young engineers are great to work with,” he says. He invests time into helping them learn, grow, and gain confidence—because he knows strong teams come from strong relationships.

That same relationship-driven approach extends to clients. AJ lights up when he talks about serving local municipalities and seeing tangible outcomes that improve everyday life. A recent highlight was securing a $5.8 million grant for Perry Township. When the township secretary called him with the good news, AJ felt the impact. “She was crying, she was so elated, and that really made my day,” he says. For AJ, that emotional connection isn’t unusual; the trust he builds is real.

This emphasis on people is one of the reasons AJ chose to join JHA. Having started his career at a small firm with a strong family atmosphere, he felt the shift when that company was purchased by a large corporation. At JHA, he found the culture he’d been missing. “I like working at JHA mainly because of the family atmosphere—that’s a big part of why I came here,” he says. “We have about 90 people, and everybody knows everybody.” JHA’s Core Values—People Matter Most, Communication is Key and Empowered by Process—align perfectly with the way AJ already approaches his work. “Those sum up what I like in an engineering firm. We strive to establish relationships. That is a big part of what engineering is,” he says, “especially when you’re a senior project leader and you’re helping bring clients to the table so that your employees have work and are able to feed their families.”

“I couldn’t be happier with Joe [JHA Founder/Owner Joe Hunt] and Travis [Travis Long, JHA VP and Director of Environmental Services] and the whole company. My wife always jokes that when Travis hired me, he gave her back the husband she once knew.  Because apparently, I must have been not happy, and it showed. So, I’m extremely happy and fortunate for the opportunity to be able to work at JHA.”