Zack Bazzi is the Regional Director of the Middle East and Central Asia for Spirit of America. Since joining the organization in 2014, Zack has worked on more than 200 initiatives from Egypt to Tajikistan, including efforts to promote good governance, prevent violent extremism, build social cohesion, educate conflict-affected children, counter misinformation and disinformation, and provide humanitarian assistance to displaced populations.

Since joining the Army in 1997, Zack has amassed extensive international experience in conflict and post-conflict areas, particularly the Middle East. He is currently the president of the board of directors of the nonprofit Empower Lebanon. Prior to that, Zack was the co-founder and executive director of TentED, an organization committed to advancing education for children displaced by war, and served on the board of directors for the Education for Peace in Iraq Center. Zack’s work experience has brought him to Afghanistan, where he managed special projects for AAR Corp, and to Washington, DC, where he oversaw programs in the Mid-Atlantic region for Veterans Green Jobs and was the program coordinator for Survivor Corps.

Zack has been honored as a Marshall Memorial Fellow (2017), Daily Points of Light Award recipient (2017), Got Your 6 Storytellers selectee (2016), and HillVets 100 honoree (2016).

A veteran of the US Army and Army National Guard, Zack served as an infantryman for 10 years, completing four overseas deployments to Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Zack graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2008 with a BA in psychology and from Georgetown University in 2015 with an MA in emergency and disaster management.