Contributors | Zachery Hazard Hazardous Travels

Meet the Team

Hazardous Travels was not created alone. It was shaped by the teachers, mentors, parents, and pastors God placed in my life who helped form who I am today. This team reflects the heart behind the book: wisdom, formation, service, and a shared desire to help others recognize grace in their own stories. Together, we bring pastoral insight, academic depth, and lived experience to this work.

Academic and Formation Contributor, Hazardous Travels

Dr. Steve Aloia

Dr. Steve Aloia is a veteran educator whose career includes service as a school principal, director of special education, university professor, and academic department leader. Over three decades of work, he has shaped generations of students and teachers through reflective practice, character development, and academic integrity. Known for his steady mentorship and thoughtful leadership, Dr. Aloia connects educational work with deeper purpose and vocation.

In Hazardous Travels, Dr. Aloia offers reflections drawn from his lifelong experience guiding educators and supporting students through challenge and growth. His insights ground the narrative in themes of discipline, wisdom, and the lifelong nature of learning, helping readers see formation as a continual journey. Even in retirement, he continues to mentor and inspire those seeking to live and lead with integrity.

Pastoral & Formation Contributor, Hazardous Travels

Deacon Christopher Pagel

Deacon Christopher Pagel serves as a permanent deacon in the Diocese of Orange. Alongside his pastoral ministry, he is Vice President of Development for Pax Christi Academies, a national initiative dedicated to revitalizing Catholic education through school renewal, enrollment growth, and academic excellence. His background includes nonprofit leadership, educational development, and business, and he holds an MBA from Chapman University with graduate training in pastoral theology.

An Eagle Scout, Deacon Pagel brings a lifelong commitment to leadership, service, and formation into his work in both parish life and Catholic education.

In Hazardous Travels, Deacon Pagel provides pastoral clarity and spiritual insight that help readers recognize God’s presence in the ordinary moments of daily life. Drawing from years in parish ministry, adult catechesis, and Catholic education renewal, his reflections connect the narrative to lived Catholic spirituality. He and his wife are longtime Orange County residents committed to strengthening faith, community, and Catholic identity.

Author

Zachery Hazard

Zachery Hazard is a Catholic educator, author, and speaker from Orange County, California. An Eagle Scout and 4th-Degree Knight of Columbus, he has spent his career serving students as a Special Education teacher while pursuing graduate studies in educational leadership. His writing blends personal travel, spiritual reflection, and the everyday realities of family life, inviting readers to notice grace in their own ordinary stories.

Hazardous Travels grew out of years of formative experiences, including global study, faith encounters, fatherhood, and quiet moments of loss and growth. Through these stories, he encourages others to find meaning, purpose, and gratitude in the lives they already live.