Pathways & Perspectives

Pathways & Perspectives is a four-part series offering 20-minute virtual conversations with alumni volunteers from industries including tech, social impact, the sciences, healthcare, government/law/policy, and arts/media/communications.

These chats are a chance to ask questions and get advice about career paths, grad school, work culture, and how your Middlebury experience can translate into meaningful opportunities.

Whether you’re exploring possibilities or ready to take your next step, these one-on-one conversations are designed to help you:

• Hear firsthand how alumni navigated their own career journeys
• Learn about specific fields, roles, and industries
• Build confidence talking with professionals who get the Middlebury experience

How it works

1. Review the alumni bios below.
2. Pick one (or more) alumni volunteers who match your interests.
3. Prepare your résumé (required for registration). If you’d like help, drop by Quick Questions for résumé guidance.
4. Click the link to sign up for a time slot on Handshake.
5. Show up ready to talk, listen, and learn. 

Business, Finance, and Consulting

From Class to Wall Street, Startups, and Strategy. Let’s Talk Real Career Paths

Friday, March 13, 2026

What: Short, casual 20-minute conversations with Middlebury alumni working across finance, strategy, investing, and entrepreneurship.

Why: Ever wonder what people actually do in consulting, venture finance, or private equity? Or how a Middlebury major turns into a career in startups, banking, or strategy? These alumni have been in your shoes, and they’re volunteering to share honest advice, career stories, and what they wish they’d known as undergrads.

Where: Via Zoom (sign up for a 1:1 slot through Handshake)

Featured Alumni

Lexi DeMarco ’15
Senior Vice President, HSBC Innovation Banking

Schedule a one-on-one chat with Lexi | 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Lexi spent most of her career at the intersection of finance, innovation, and climate. She started out at Silicon Valley Bank, where she spent eight years in the venture debt group, working with high-growth startups in both San Francisco and London. After that, she went to business school and focused specifically on sustainability and climate, and then joined a circular economy startup in the resale space, where she spent two years in strategy operating inside an early-stage company. Most recently, she returned to banking and is now part of HSBC’s Innovation Banking team. She helps lead the venture debt financing group on the East Coast, with a particular focus on climate and frontier technology companies. Through her career, she’s seen startups from both the investing and operating sides, and she enjoys helping students understand the different paths into finance, climate, and the startup ecosystem.

Connect with Lexi in Midd2Midd

Juan Garcia ’03
Strategy Consultant and Founder of Ajala Inc

Schedule a one-on-one chat with Juan | 9:00 -11:00 a.m.

Juan Garcia is an operator-investor and former U.S. Army officer originally from Miami, Florida. A graduate of Middlebury College, he studied English and Political Science and participated in the University of Vermont’s Army ROTC program, taking a year off during college to enlist in the U.S. Army before returning to graduate and commission as an officer. Juan served nearly a decade on active duty during the Global War on Terror as a Ranger-qualified officer, including deployments to Iraq as a Battalion Fire Support Officer and to Afghanistan as an Infantry Rifle Company Commander with the 101st Airborne Division. After separating from the Army, he joined the world’s largest lawn and garden company, where he supported acquisition-driven expansion and operational integration within a newly formed business unit. He later founded Ajala Inc., 1st Club Capital, and Hi, Neighbor, investing and operating with a disciplined, industry-agnostic approach centered on leadership, execution, and durable value creation. Juan holds an Executive MBA from Boston University and is married to Alexis Hollinger, Middlebury Class of 2005; they have three children.

Connect with Juan in Midd2Midd

John Rudge ’92
Partner, Lexington Patners, Inc.

Schedule a one-on-one chat with John | 1:00 -3:00 p.m.

John Rudge is a Partner on the Secondary team primarily focused on the origination, evaluation, and execution of secondary opportunities including partnership and GP-led transactions. He is also a member of Lexington’s ESG Steering Committee. John joined Lexington as a vice president in 2001 from Morgan Stanley, where he was an associate in investment banking. He graduated from Middlebury College with a BA in American Civilizations and from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth with an MBA.

Connect with John in Midd2Midd

Conservation 

Turn Your Passion for the Planet into a Career Conversation

Friday, April 3, 2026

What: Short, casual 20-minute conversations with Middlebury alumni working across the conservation industry.

Why: Ever wondered what it actually looks like to build a career protecting ecosystems, shaping environmental policy, or working in conservation nonprofits? 

These casual virtual chats are designed to give you insight into careers in conservation - from advocacy and environmental policy to wildlife research and nonprofit leadership. Alumni have been where you are now and are eager to share how their Middlebury experience shaped their paths.

Where: Via Zoom (sign up for a 1:1 slot through Handshake)

Angie McCarthy ’19
Maryland Conservation Advocate at Nature Forward

Schedule a one-on-one chat with Angie| 3:00 -5:00 p.m.

Angie (she/her) covers the educational, outreach, and legislative programs in Prince George’s and Montgomery County’s Councils, as well as the Maryland General Assembly. In her role, she is the co-chair of the Montgomery County Stormwater Partner Network, the Montgomery County Forest Coalition, and the Maryland Data Center Reform Coalition. Her favorite outreach activities are the ones that connect with young adults about their goals and what gets them outside, and how they can plan for a future in the environmental field. She loves being a lobbyist and hitting the floor to advocate on responsible data center development, the rollout of clean energy, and environmental justice issues. She graduated from Middlebury College in 2019 with a degree in Environmental Studies and Geography. After graduation, she worked in financial risk analysis at M&T Bank, staffed Montgomery County Councilmember Andrew Friedson on all things communications and environmental policy, and worked in sales for a DC-based solar company. She is a Jane of all trades, master of all of them. When she isn’t working, she plays volleyball against her partner, walks her pitbull through Rock Creek, or eats too much cheese with her best friends. She loves Impressionist art and thinking about the definition of Awe.

Connect with Angie in Midd2Midd

Megan Parker ’84
Conservation Development Director at Swan Valley Connections

Schedule a one-on-one chat with Megan | 1:00 -3:00 p.m.

Megan Parker, Ph.D. is working on community conservation with Swan Valley Connections helping the team build a sustainable future and increase conservation impact. Working across disciplines in wildlife ecology and connectivity, focused on predators for her research and co-founder of Working Dogs for Conservation, her career has been in non-profit conservation. She grew up in Montana with an abundance of animals, wild and domestic, and learned the importance of respecting other species and their needs. With a background in art and science, she joined a team in Guatemala for her MS working on falcons in Tikal National Park. She worked on the restoration of peregrine falcons in the West, wolves in Idaho and earned her PhD following packs of African wild dogs, learning about chemical communication and helping develop conflict mitigation tools in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. She helped develop the field of canine conservation detection and believes in the abilities of dogs to answer a tremendous range of conservation questions. She started programs and developed research, outreach and trainings for detecting endangered and rare species, wildlife trafficking law enforcement, ecological monitoring, invasive spp. eradication and disease detection. She has helped build programs, partner with organizations and governments, led international trainings and trained dogs and handlers in Africa, North, Central and South America and Asia.

Connect with Megan in Midd2Midd

Nancy Fishbein ’82
Director, Resilient Lands at The Nature Conservancy in Colorado

Schedule a one-on-one chat with Nancy| 1:00 -3:00 p.m.

Nancy Fishbein is the Director of Resilient and Connected Lands for the Colorado Program of The Nature Conservancy. Nancy’s team is responsible for protecting and stewarding critical lands across the state, as well as ensuring the Chapter’s alignment with the land protection objectives of TNC’s Global 2030 Goals, including building a network of resilient and connected landscapes. Nancy has served on the Colorado Conservation Easement Oversight Commission and on the board of the Colorado Coalition of Land Trusts. Prior to joining The Nature Conservancy in 1991, Nancy worked at the Adirondack Park Agency in upstate New York, where she also owned and operated an outdoor guiding business. Her first job in Colorado was as an environmental educator at the Keystone Science School. Nancy holds an MS in Natural Resource Policy from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and a BA in Environmental Studies from Middlebury College.

Connect with Nancy in Midd2Midd

Past Pathways & Perspectives Events

Education

Friday, February 27 | Virtual 1:1 Chats - 20 minutes each

Thinking About Teaching, Schools, or Education Careers?

What: Casual 20-minute virtual conversations with Middlebury alumni in teaching, school leadership, and community education.

Why: Curious how a Middlebury degree can lead to the classroom, school leadership, or education-focused nonprofits? Whether you’re thinking about K–12, higher ed, nonprofit education, or something adjacent (policy, EdTech, community work), these alumni have been there, and want to share honest advice.

Featured Alumni

Margaret Rice Hodgkins ’79
TELAN Teacher (Teaching English Language to Adult Newcomers), World Learning

The Rev. Margaret (Peggy) Hodgkins served as an ordained Episcopal priest for 30 years in New Jersey and Connecticut. Her ministry focuses on building wholesome, multicultural, intergenerational Christian communities through worship, education, pastoral care, and social justice ministries. She became the first female rector at three different parishes, including historic Trinity Episcopal Church in Southport, CT (founded in 1725).  Since retiring to Vermont in 2023, she teaches English to refugees, while also serving as a supply clergy on a monthly basis. Prior to becoming a priest, she worked at NBC News in New York City for six years. She holds a B.A. from Middlebury College, Vermont, in Russian Language and Literature (1979) and a Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary, New York, NY (1996). She and her husband enjoy skiing and have six grandchildren.

Connect with Margaret in Midd2Midd

David Liebmann ’81
Head of School, Torit Montessori School

David holds master’s degrees from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education where he was a 2020-21 Sustainability Fellow, and Middlebury’s Bread Loaf School of English where he was the John M. Kirk, Jr. Scholar at Lincoln College, Oxford University. At Middlebury, he earned a BA cum laude in a major he designed examining the intersections of people and the environment. David has served as a head of school, assistant head of school, admissions coordinator, and teacher in independent schools for more than 30 years. His first love is the classroom, where he has taught English and the humanities to ninth through twelfth graders. He enjoys developing student agency and voice in writing and helping students find and share their passions through language. An avid reader and writer, David has published in magazines ranging from Net Assets and Independent School to Birding and Pittsburgh Quarterly.

Connect with David in Midd2Midd

Annie McGinn ’11
Advanced Learning Teacher, Minnetonka Public Schools

Annie McGinn graduated from Middlebury in 2011 with a major in Psychology and minor in Spanish. While at Middlebury, she studied abroad in Ecuador and competed on the swim team. After graduation, she taught as a Resident Teacher at the University Child Development School in Seattle, Washington. From Seattle, she moved to Mumbai, India to help start and teach at Ascend International School. She then returned to her home state of Minnesota to complete her teaching license, Masters in Teaching, and Certificate in Gifted Education at Hamline University in St. Paul. Since becoming a licensed teacher, Annie has taught at Minnetonka Public Schools, a large suburban school district in Minnesota. As a classroom teacher she taught 4th Grade Spanish Immersion and 2nd-3rd grade highly-gifted students in the district’s Navigator Program. She currently works as an elementary school Advanced Learning Teacher, working directly with small groups of gifted and high achieving students, and cooperating with classroom teachers, administrators, and parents to support these students in their elementary years.

Connect with Annie in Midd2Midd

Technology

Friday, October 17 | Virtual 1:1 Chats - 20 minutes each

Interested in technology, cybersecurity, software engineering, or how to build a tech career with a liberal arts degree? Meet one-on-one with Middlebury alumni who’ve charted their own paths in the fast-moving world of tech. Whether you’re curious about breaking into the industry, working in big tech, or exploring emerging areas like AI and security, this is your chance to get candid advice from professionals who’ve been there.

Featured Alumni

David Bell ’12
Principal Engineer, Uber

David graduated from Middlebury College in 2012 with a degree in Computer Science and a minor in Mathematics. He is currently a Principal Engineer at Uber, where he is a technical lead for the 400-person Core Platform organization. There he focuses on foundational networking, working from the physical network all the way up to the global systems that route customer requests to enable Uber to be as performant, reliable, and as secure as possible. Prior to Uber, David worked at Amazon Web Services where he built systems for container orchestration and service-to-service communication. In his spare time, David enjoys cooking for his family, rock climbing, and holding out hope for Detroit to win the Super Bowl in his lifetime.

Connect with David in Midd2Midd

Dom Jimenez ’18
Contracts Manager, Google

Dom works as a Contracts Manager at Google, where he reviews and negotiates commercial inbound agreements for Google’s Brand Marketing, Events, Grow with Google, and Government Affairs and Public Policy teams. Dom is a legal lead of Google’s Career Certificate program, a Grow with Google initiative that offers AI training and tools for job seekers, students, teachers, and business owners. At Middlebury, Dom studied Political Science and was an active part of the Residential Life team. In his spare time, Dom coaches a high school basketball team in NYC where he now resides.

Connect with Dom in Midd2Midd

Daniel Trauner ’12
SVP, Information Security, Jefferies

Daniel is an SVP at global investment banking and capital markets firm Jefferies, where he leads the firm’s cloud and application security initiatives, DevOps/DevEx, and advises on AI-related projects and strategy. With a proven track record of building security programs from the ground up, Daniel has been instrumental in shaping security practices at hypergrowth startups and established firms alike. Known for his hands-on technical expertise and strategic leadership, Daniel specializes in implementing security-by-design principles across technology and infrastructure practices.

Prior to joining Jefferies, Daniel held senior security roles at both Axonius and Bugcrowd, where he honed his skills in managing distributed teams and collaborating with global networks of security researchers.

A respected voice in the cybersecurity community, Daniel has spoken at major industry conferences. He also contributes to the tech ecosystem as an angel investor, supporting promising startups in the security and technology sectors.

Daniel holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Economics from Middlebury College, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Security Leadership (GSLC) certifications from ISC2 and GIAC, and is a Birthright Excel Fellow. When not immersed in the world of cybersecurity, Daniel enjoys building, breaking, and fixing things, and trying to solve problems that others consider to be Kobayashi Maru scenarios.

Connect with Daniel in Midd2Midd

Social Impact

Friday, October 24 | Virtual 1:1 Chats - 20 minutes each

Interested in making a difference, whether through policy, sustainability, housing, or humanitarian action? Meet one-on-one with Middlebury alumni in MIdd2Midd who’ve built meaningful careers tackling complex global and community challenges. These conversations are your chance to explore paths in nonprofits, consulting, advocacy, and international development, and hear how other Middlebury graduates turned interest into impact.

Featured Alumni

Grace Levin ’18.5
Senior Associate, A Community of Friends
Sign up for a slot between 1-3 PM

Grace is a Senior Associate at A Community of Friends, a nonprofit affordable housing developer based in Los Angeles, CA. She works on housing projects through all stages of the development pipeline from land use approvals to construction and lease-up. Grace has a master’s degree in urban planning from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a bachelor’s degree with a major in sociology and anthropology from Middlebury College (Class of 2018.5). Her interests include community development, housing policy, and urban design.

Connect with Grace in Midd2Midd

Jenny Moffett ’16
Senior Associate, CEA Consulting
Sign up for a slot between 1-4 PM

Jenny is a Senior Associate at CEA Consulting, a boutique consulting firm based in San Francisco that advises foundations and nonprofits on environmental and climate-oriented topics, providing strategy, research, and program implementation support. Jenny’s areas of expertise include freshwater issues, climate adaptation and resilience, nature-based solutions, and conservation. Her clients have included the Coca-Cola Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, and the ClimateWorks Foundation. Over her six years at CEA, Jenny has supported numerous strategy design, refinement, and implementation engagements, advised on grantmaking and partnership development, and led research engagements to explore new areas for impact for her clients.

Before joining CEA, Jenny worked for The Nature Conservancy in Vermont in land stewardship and, later, fundraising. She has also worked for the National Park Service in Yellowstone National Park, been a wilderness expedition leader and environmental educator, and spent two years serving as an AmeriCorps member. Jenny studied Conservation Biology at Middlebury.

Connect with Jenny in Midd2Midd

Rachel Sider ’14
Policy Advisor, Danish Refugee Council
Sign up for a slot between 12-3 PM

Rachel has worked with governments, local communities and international organizations to shape policy and relief programs to effectively reduce risks to civilians and promote conflict resolution. Most recently, Rachel led organizational strategy and oversaw an executive leadership transition and onboarding with the international peacebuilding organization, Interpeace, in Geneva. Prior to this she worked on Myanmar and on Syria where she led research on humanitarian access, shaped UN Security Council debates, and advised governments to address the needs of displaced populations. Rachel has lived and worked in Jordan, Iraq and Jerusalem. She holds a Bachelor in Arts in International Studies from Middlebury College and a Master in Public Policy from the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government.

Connect with Rachel in Midd2Midd

Rachel Veneziano ’20
Associate, Engagement Strategies, Food & Forests Team, Ceres, Inc.
Sign up for a slot between 2-5 PM

Rachel graduated from Middlebury in 2020, majoring in Environmental Policy and minoring in Sociology. After graduating, Rachel began working at Ceres, a nonprofit advocacy organization working to make the business case for action on key sustainability challenges facing our economy. Rachel is currently an Associate on the Food and Forests team, providing institutional investors with educational materials and company engagement support on nature and biodiversity-loss, agricultural GHG emissions, and commodity-driven deforestation. Outside of work, Rachel is also halfway through pursing a Master’s in Sustainability at the Harvard Extension School.

The Sciences

Friday, October 31 | Virtual 1:1 Chats

Curious about research, environmental science, renewable energy, or how to turn a passion for discovery into a career? Meet Middlebury alumni in Midd2Midd who are advancing scientific knowledge, shaping sustainability policy, and mentoring the next generation of researchers. These one-on-one conversations are a chance to explore a wide range of paths within the sciences — from academia to applied research — and hear how fellow Middlebury graduates built meaningful careers.

Featured Alumni

Kaitlin ‘Kae’ Fink ’16
Staff Research Scientist, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Kae works as a staff research scientist at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), where she leads and contributes to a variety of scientific R&D efforts focused on next-generation lithium-ion battery development and advanced battery recycling. Kae’s research ranges from fundamental to applied and is conducted with a range of sponsors and partners from government, academia, and industry. At Middlebury, Kae double-majored in chemistry and environmental economics; she was also a member of the women’s Nordic ski team, the Paradiddles, Residential Life staff, and the Brooker House community. Kae currently lives in the Denver area where she spends as much time outdoors (biking, trail running, rock climbing, skiing, gardening) as she can, and also loves to chat with Midd students and alums about science and opportunities for internship and work in the national lab system!

Connect with Kae in Midd2Midd

Dr. Cinda Scott ’99
Co-Director, Ocean Nexus Program, University of Rhode Island

Dr. Scott is a marine biologist, educator, and ocean equity advocate. She completed her Ph.D. in 2009 at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Science. Upon graduating, she joined the national movement to improve STEM education for students from marginalized groups at New York City College of Technology. There, she evaluated STEM programs ranging from engineering to physics and taught in the biology department to inform her practice. She interviewed students and worked alongside faculty to improve STEM education across the College and to retain underrepresented groups in the sciences.
In 2025, Dr. Scott joined the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Program at the University of Rhode Island as Co-Director. She will oversee and lead a consortium of international researchers dedicated to the study of inequity in ocean governance. In her new role, she will work with research fellows and lead scientists, produce grants, communicate Ocean Nexus findings, and continue her research. Dr. Scott’s current research examines the cultural valuation of mangroves and inequities in natural resource management throughout the Bocas del Toro archipelago.
Dr. Scott is dedicated to the advancement of ocean equity and the promotion of equitable sharing of ecosystem services to support the well-being of coastal communities and seascapes that sustain all life. She maintains interest in marine protected areas, coral reef ecology, and ocean equity. For more information, please visit her personal website at www.cindaseas.world.

Connect with Cinda in Midd2Midd

David Skelly ’87
Professor of Ecology and Director, Peabody Museum, Yale University

David Skelly, Ph.D., is the Frank R. Oastler Professor of Ecology at the Yale School of the Environment and the Director of the Yale Peabody Museum. His research focuses on rapid evolution and other means by which amphibian species are responding to human changes to landscapes and climate. He has taught courses including landscape ecology, freshwater ecology, conservation science and, currently, a first-year seminar that supports beginning undergraduates as they carry out research projects using the Peabody collections. Formerly, he was the Associate Dean for Research at the School of the Environment where he oversaw the School’s doctoral program as well as its research operations and infrastructure. Over the last decade, he has led the Peabody through a strategic reorientation culminating in a renovation and expansion of the Museum which re-opened in March 2024 with new galleries and facilities for its undergraduate and K-12 programs. David has been awarded the School of the Environment teaching award on four occasions. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Connect with David in Midd2Midd

Healthcare

Friday, November 7 | Virtual 1:1 Chats

Thinking about a future in medicine, public health, or healthcare innovation? Meet one-on-one with Middlebury alumni in Midd2Midd who are working across the medical field, from clinical care and surgery to infectious disease research and women’s health. These conversations are your chance to ask questions, explore diverse healthcare paths, and hear how Midd grads turned their interests into meaningful careers helping others.

Featured Alumni

Jordan Gutweiler ’00
General Surgeon-Atrius Health

I am a general surgeon who graduated from Middlebury in 2000. My undergraduate major was in American Literature and my honors thesis was written about the physician poet William Carlos Williams. I have practiced surgery in a variety of settings (community and academic) and remain active in medical education. 

Connect with Jordan in Midd2Midd

Adam Hersh ’94
Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Utah

My name is Adam Hersh and I graduated from Middlebury in 1994 majoring in Biology and Mathematics. I completed an MD/PhD program and then trained in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases.  I am a Professor of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Utah. My work involves clinical care in Infectious Diseases and research in epidemiology with a focus on antibiotic stewardship and respiratory infections.  I look forward to meeting with anyone with interests in medicine, clinically oriented research and public health.  

Connect with Adam in Midd2Midd

Erin Kunkel ’03
Physician, Director Doctors, Brown University

Erin Kunkel, MD is a general gynecologist and menopause and obesity medicine specialist practicing in Rhode Island. She grew up in the DC metro area in Maryland. She received a BA in Theater from Middlebury College. After a year-long stint on a national theater tour, she moved to New York City where she promptly identified a love of health and medicine that dwarfed her love of the stage. She completed her premedical postbaccalaureate training at Columbia University, received her medical degree from Brown University, and completed a residency in OBGYN at Pennsylvania Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She returned to RI after residency and spent 7.5 years practicing as a board-certified general OBGYN. Throughout her time in that practice, she fell in love with working with women in midlife, supporting them through the unique challenges posed by the late reproductive years, perimenopause, and through to postmenopause. To better support these women, she completed a professional training certification in Women’s Integrative and Functional Medicine, became a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner (MSCP), and attained board certification in Obesity Medicine (DABOM). Her areas of expertise include general gynecology, PCOS, abnormal uterine bleeding, perimenopause and menopause, and weight management. When not working, she can be found exploring new parks and hikes with her husband and daughter, browsing plant nurseries with aspirational garden visions in mind, cooking, or just drinking coffee with a good book or a good friend.

Connect with Erin in Midd2Midd

Government, Law, and Policy

Friday, November 14 | Virtual 1:1 Chats - 20 minutes each

Interested in public service, law, or shaping policy at the local, national, or global level? Meet one-on-one with Middlebury alumni in Midd2Midd who’ve built meaningful careers advancing justice, security, and social progress through government, law, and policy. These conversations are your chance to explore pathways in law, military leadership, and social policy, and gain knowledge of how other Middlebury graduates turned civic engagement into lasting impact.

Featured Alumni

Rebecca Jones ’08
Assistant Attorney General, Arizona Attorney General’s Office

Rebecca has been a practicing attorney in Arizona for fourteen years.  She has undergraduate degrees in History and Psychology from Middlebury, as well as a JD from the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. Rebecca spent six years as a Deputy County Attorney with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, five years of which were spent prosecuting adult and juvenile sex crimes.  She is currently an Assistant Attorney General at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, where she prosecuted complex drug trafficking and wiretap investigation cases and currently works in criminal appeals.  In addition to her legal career, Rebecca is also an award-winning fiction author and translator.

Connect with Rebecca in Midd2Midd

Charlotte O’Herron ’14
PhD Student in Social Policy, Harvard University

Charlotte is a Doctoral Student in Sociology & Social Policy at Harvard University. She uses quantitative and qualitative methods to research labor market inequality in earnings and job quality. Before starting her Ph.D., Charlotte received a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2021. Charlotte also has experience working in non-profits and research organizations, such as the Nature Conservancy and MDRC. She received her B.A. from Middlebury College in Environmental Studies. 

Connect with Charlotte in Midd2Midd

Conor Stewart ’09
Lieutenant Colonel, Product Manager, United States Marine Corps

Conor Stewart is a native of Averill Park, New York. He attended the Officer Candidate Course at Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on 18 March 2011. Following graduation from The Basic School Second in September 2011, he attended the Infantry Officer Course in Quantico, Virginia where he graduated with the primary MOS designation of Infantry Officer in December 2011. 

LtCol Stewart’s operating force assignments include: Platoon Commander, 2d Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California (January-May 2012), Foreign Security Force Advisor, Advisor Training Command, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California (2012-2013), Weapons Platoon Commander and Fires Support Team Leader for Company G, 2d Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California (2013-2014), Assistant Operations Officer and Security Platoon Commander, Headquarters Battalion, 3d Marine Division, Camp Courtney, Okinawa, Japan (2014-2015), Headquarters Company Commander, Headquarters Battalion, 3d Marine Division, Camp Courtney, Okinawa, Japan (2015-2016), Operations Officer, Headquarters Battalion, 3d Marine Division, Camp Courtney, Okinawa, Japan (2016-2017), Assistant Operations Officer, Company Commander, Company A, and Company Commander, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California (2018-2020). He deployed in support of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM to Regional Command-Southwest as an Operations and Intelligence Advisor for 2d Battalion, 1st Brigade, 615th Corps, Afghan National Army at Forward Operating Base Delhi in Garmsir, Helmand Province, Afghanistan (2012-2013), in support of 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit operations in the Pacific, Company G, Battalion Landing Team 2d Battalion, 5th Marines (2013-2014), in support of Marine Rotation Force-Darwin with 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment to Darwin, Australia (2019), and to
United Arab Emirates with 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment in support of Exercise NATIVE FURY (2020). Other assignments include: Team Lead, Individual Armor and Loadbearing, Product Manager Infantry Combat Equipment, Program Manager Infantry Weapons Systems, Ground Combat Element Systems Portfolio, Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Va (2022-2024). LtCol Stewart holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont (2009) and a Master of Business Administration with a focus in Material Logistics Management,
Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California (2021). He is a graduate of Expeditionary Warfare School (Resident, 2018) and Marine Corps Command and Staff College (Non-Resident, 2021). 

His personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (1 gold star in lieu of second award), the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (1 gold star in lieu of second award), and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (4 bronze stars in lieu of subsequent awards). LtCol Stewart assumed his current duties as Product Manager, Sustainment & Readiness, Advanced Amphibious Assault, PEO Land Systems in April 2024.

Connect with Conor in Midd2Midd

Arts, Media, and Communications

Friday, December 5 | Virtual 1:1 Chats (20 minutes each)

Curious about creative careers that blend storytelling, design, and innovation? Meet one-on-one with Middlebury alumni in Midd2Midd who’ve built career paths in journalism, game design, and industrial design. These conversations are your chance to explore the many ways Middlebury grads are shaping the media, arts, and communications industries, whether crafting stories that inform and inspire, designing meaningful products, or producing experiences that connect people through creativity.

Featured Alumni

Rich Gallup ’01
Director of Production, Jackbox Games

Rich was a film major who spent his days at Middlebury on the radio, filming doofy ninja movies and creating a community access TV show. After graduation he moved to California in search of a job in Film or TV and stumbled into video games, starting as a QA tester before a run as a podcaster and livestream host at GameSpot during that medium’s infancy. In the time since then he’s been a producer for games of all shapes and sizes, from Star Trek to Fart Cat. Currently he is Director of Production at Jackbox Games, which is as fun a place to work as you might expect!

Connect with Rich in Midd2Midd

Jake Moritz ’11
Industrial Designer

Jake is a designer of products, builder of homes, and tries to be the bridge between people problems and creating practical solutions that people can afford and will pay for.

He became a geography major at Middlebury because he wanted to create tangible and honest products, and had gotten very good at hiding bad ideas in long-form essays.

He talked his way into Square, the payments company, as a 200 person startup in San Francisco and bounced between product, marketing, sales, and hardware design. Jake left when he realized that his love of building real things and helping people was a career path and vocation called industrial design. He cobbled together a furniture portfolio and photographed it in good lighting to get into design school. He did a masters and industrial design at RISD, with a particular focus on mobility solutions and providing legal pathways for delivery workers to obtain, afford, and secure electric bikes in New York City. He spent three years as a one-man hardware team designed in building and shipping election systems for the state of Mississippi and he spent the last several years building and developing custom homes and workshops of all sizes in Truckee CA. 

Build cool stuff. Help people. 

Connect with Jake in Midd2Midd

James Sterngold ’76
Book author and editor-Self employed, formerly New York Times

Jim spent 35 years as a journalist at The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. He worked as a correspondent covering issues ranging from finance and economics to politics, national security and arts and culture in New York and Los Angeles and won numerous awards. He also spent 3 years in Hong Kong with the Journal and 5 ½ years in Tokyo with the Times. Following his career in journalism, Jim ran Communications and Marketing at the City University of New York. Jim now writes and edits non-fiction books. 

Connect with Jim in Midd2Midd