Zachary completed his BA in International Studies at Roosevelt University and MS in Anthropology at Illinois State University.

He previously served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Georgia. He was a recent Collaborative Heritage Management Fellow with the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC), working in the Georgian region of Kakheti on cultural preservation practices.

His research interests include; heritage, memory, transformations of place and space, and their impact on identity and cultural expression in the Caucasus.