Education:
Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Buzzards Bay, MA: MS Facilities Management
Maine Maritime Academy, Castine, MA: BS Marine Engineering Technology
Professional Credentials:
USCG License Chief Engineer, Steam and Gas Unlimited Horsepower
USCG License Third Assistant Engineer, Motor Unlimited Horsepower
LT. Zachary Dias is a Master Mariner, educator, and U.S. Navy Strategic Sealift Officer with nearly two decades of experience in the maritime industry. A graduate of Massachusetts Maritime Academy, LT. Dias spent nearly a decade sailing with the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command, earning his Master of Unlimited Tonnage Upon Oceans and Master of Towing, Oceans Licenses. His professional experience includes extensive service aboard U.S. Navy ocean-going tugs, salvage and rescue vessels, and, Combat Logistics Force ships.
Throughout his maritime career, LT. Dias has developed extensive hands-on expertise in ship handling, docking and undocking, towing, making and breaking tow, multi-point anchorings and moorings, ocean towing, dry dock operations, salvage and recovery, Bridge Resource Management, and navigation. His experience includes numerous ocean-going tows, complex tug operations, real-world salvage missions, and specialized ship-handling evolutions. Notably, he was part of the crew involved in the successful recovery of the EL FARO’s Voyage Data Recorder in 2016.
LT. Dias is a former Military Sealift Command Maritime Instructor, where he taught USCG STCW courses, developed towing curriculum, and instructed Anti-Terrorism Officer courses. He currently serves as a USCG Designated Examiner and Qualified Instructor at MMA, allowing him to combine extensive operational experience with the professional assessment and development of mariners. He also maintains a strong background in Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) and modern electronic navigation. His professional interests and collaborative work include efforts to enhance ECDIS symbology and improve the interpretation of charted information, helping explore how navigators interact with, understand, and apply complex electronic navigational information in real-world operating environments.
Beyond his operational experience, LT. Dias has developed a strong academic and maritime business background. He holds a Master’s degree in Maritime Business Management, giving him a broader perspective on the commercial, operational, and strategic forces that shape the maritime industry. His particular area of professional curiosity is United States sealift strategy and the relationship between the commercial maritime industry, national security, and the nation’s ability to project maritime power.
That interest continues through his service as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve Strategic Sealift Officer Force, where he operates at the intersection of commercial maritime capability and national defense.
As an educator, LT. Dias believes effective maritime education should go beyond teaching students what to do—it should teach them why. He brings practical maritime experience into the classroom and uses realistic, challenging simulator exercises to place students in situations requiring sound judgment, communication, adaptability, and technical skill. He enjoys experimenting with different scenarios and approaches to learning, encouraging students to be curious, ask questions, and understand the consequences of their decisions.
His teaching philosophy is simple: experience creates understanding, curiosity creates growth, and understanding the “why” creates better mariners.
- Courses Taught:
- EM-5180:Transportation Security Management
- MB-5160:Transportation Security Management
- Education:
- M.S. Northwestern University
- B.A. Northwestern University
- Courses Taught:
- EM-5160: Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery
- EM-5200: Capstone Advisor
- Education:
- Senior Executive Fellow, Kennedy School, Harvard University, 2019
- Ed. D. Higher Education Leadership, Northeastern University, 2016
- M.S. Strategic Intelligence, National Intelligence University, 2014
- M.S. Criminal Justice Studies, Florida State University, 2007
- M.S. Administration & Management, St. Michael’s College, 1996
- B.S. Business Administration, University of New Hampshire,1993
C.A.G.S. in Educational Leadership, from Northeastern University
M.A., Middlebury College
B.A., University of New Hampshire
Ms. Doherty grew up working on her father's commercial lobster boat out of Sagamore and was drawn to Massachusetts Maritime Academy because of its unique mission. Ms. Doherty has been working in the Academic Resource Center since 2023. In her free time she enjoys reading, yoga, running and camping.