Welcome, I'm Jaz!

I never thought being a YA fantasy fiction author would be the key to understanding people.

Yet after a twenty-year career in public service and the private sector, I’ve seen how fiction draws upon real-world themes. I wove stories with striving-yet-flawed heroes and morally ambiguous antagonists. I wanted three-dimensional characters with complex motivations, perceptions, and needs. How did their inner conflict and determination influence their decisions? How different were these from our real lives?

I learned after working with individuals and communities from China to Kenya, Iraq to Europe, and here at home that we share similar challenges and stressors. Our solutions, though, are personal. As a diplomat and civilian embedded with the military, I listened and worked as a connector among different groups of people. As a facilitator, I also helped teams overcome communication barriers— to guide them to solutions to reduce stress in their offices, and to help them become the leaders they wanted to be. And as a mentor for college students, I helped them discover who they were, where they wanted to be, and gave them insights into how to get there.

What was more, I related to people’s stressors and complications on a personal level. From job loss to illness and injury, from grief to a messy relationship, stress had seeped its way into my life. Suppressed my identity for a time.

With these experiences, I wanted to serve in a new way. How could I use fiction and storytelling to help people explore who they were at their core? How could I incorporate professional interviewing and facilitation to guide people to create solutions that worked for them? To reduce stress in uncertain times? What skills could I teach others to help them build confidence in their abilities to work with people of different backgrounds and to pursue their creative works?

I founded An Independent Flame to support creative projects. Now, it revealed its other purpose: to coach and mentor others.

In coaching, we’ll combine self-discovery with exploring opportunities to grow. We’ll develop ways to manage stress in daily life and long-term transitions.

In mentoring, I’ll teach you skills to uncover your communication styles and improve relationships with others. If you’re an author, I’ll help you move your story in whatever stage you’re in, from creating to editing to completing the tale.

Let’s work together to get you to the next level—and live the life story you want to read.

My Background

Education

M.A. War Studies (with distinction), Kings College London
Thesis: Cultural Stress : How Interactions With and Among Foreign Populations Affect Military Personnel
B.A. International Politics (honors, summa cum laude), Penn State University, Schreyer Honors College
B.A. German Studies (honors, summa cum laude), Penn State University, Schreyer Honors College
Semesters at University of Kiel (Germany) and University College Dublin (Ireland)
Thesis: Two Sides of the COIN: Assessing Counterinsurgency Strategy in Vietnam and Iraq
Activities and Societies: Phi Beta Kappa, Tennis, and Sailing Club

Relevant Certificates

Geneva Centre for Security Policy:

Strategic Foresight
Geopolitics and Global Futures Symposium
Lead and Influence with Impact

Foreign Service Institute:

Managing Conflict Productively
Political/Economic Tradecraft

Additional:

Gender in Negotiation
Complex Negotiation Tips
The Link Between Evolutionary Psychology and Better Management

Conferences/Lectures/Interviews

Leads “The Write Stuff” Creative Writing Workshops for libraries
Lecturer/Panelist
Trainer, “The Art of Facilitation” (Parts 1 and 2)
“Stress and Mental Health in the (Post) Covid-19 World,” American University
“Stress and Mental Health in the Covid-19 Culture,” NAS Whidbey Island Mental Health and Wellbeing
“The Military and Cultural Stress,” Geneva Centre for Security Policy
“Gender and Stabilization Operations,” Foreign Service Institute
“Gender-based Violence and Security Implications”, National Defense University and AFRICOM
“The Role of Gender in Stability Operations”, 7th International Lessons Learned Conference, National Defense University
Podcasts
“Cultural Stress in the Covid-19 World,” FourBlock, https://fourblock.org/resource/podcast/cultural-stress-in-the-covid-19-world.
“FTG 0044 – Being the Hero of Your Own Story with Former Diplomat, Defense Expert, Consultant, and Author Jaz Azari ’06,” https://lnkd.in/e-vQxSWK (April 2023).
“Following the Gong: Life and Career Advice from Scholar Alumni,” https://following-the-gong-a-podcast-of-the-schreyer-honorsryr.castos.com/episodes/ftg-0048-behind-the-gong-with-alumni-relations-professional-and-podcast-host-sean-goheen-11-with-guest-host-jaz-azari-06

Publications

Non-Fiction

Azari, Jaz “At the Table”, State Magazine
Azari, Jaz, Neil Greenberg and Christopher Dandeker, ‘Cultural Stress: How Interactions With and Among Foreign Populations Affects Military Personnel’, Armed Forces & Society.
Bolt, Neville, David Betz and Jaz Azari, Propaganda of the Deed 2008: Understanding the Phenomenon, Whitehall Report 3-08
Azari, Jaz, ‘Review Essay: Just and Unjust Wars and Just War Doctrine in Ideological Warfare’, Small Wars & Insurgencies

Fiction

The Obsidian Staff, Book One of The Lost Legacy Series
The First Conquest: Departure, Book Two of The Lost Legacy Series
The Noble Rogues
(Visit www.thelostlegacyseries.com for more information!)

Awards

U.S. Marine Corps:

Certificate of Commendation from the Commanding General, Training and Education Command
Department of State:
Superior Honor Award
Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
Certificates of Appreciation:

Office of Management Strategy and Solutions (2)
Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (3)
Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs
Penn State:
Department of German and Slavic Languages and Literature, Outstanding Alumni Award for 2023