Grandmaster Farshad Azad is a 9th Degree Black Belt, the Chair
of the Board of Directors of the North Valley Community
Foundation, as well as the owner of Azad’s Martial Arts Center in
Chico and Azad’s International Inc., an international investment
company. He is also currently on the Board of Directors of the
American Red Cross and Foundation Board at Butte College.
Grandmaster Azad teaches martial arts for children and adults of
all ages and abilities. He conducts talks and presentations
around the world on personal empowerment and growth,
business development and efficiency, the power of philanthropy
and public and private sector partnerships.
After earning his Master of Public Administration from Chico
State in 1990, he has been lecturing part time in the Department
of Kinesiology —teaching in the department longer than any
other faculty. He served on the University Advisory Board from
2006 to 2018 and received Chico State’s Distinguished Alumni
Service Award in 2015.