Expert Solutionists' Bios 2025-26

Interfaith Leaders Panel

Father Brandon Schneider, S.T.L., J.C.L., currently serves as administrator of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (St. Mary’s) Parish in Middlebury, VT St. Bernadette Parish in Bridport, VT and St. Genevieve Parish in Shoreham, VT. He received a Bachelor’s degree from Youngstown State University in history and Russian in 2000 and a Master’s degree from Georgetown University in Russian history in 2002. He worked in the Admissions Office at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, where he was assistant dean for admissions for almost five years before entering the Order of Preachers (Dominicans). 

Zahra Moeini Meybodi is the Associate Muslim Chaplain and Interfaith Advisor at Middlebury College. She has served as an educator in both the academic study of religion and spiritual life to audiences from various walks of life and traditions. She has also served as an organizer for American Muslim student communities at the University of Chicago and other campuses. She is deeply concerned and passionate about the intersections of education, spirituality, and social action, especially on issues relating to racial and economic justice. She received her BA in Religious Studies from Hunter College CUNY and MA from the University of Chicago Divinity School. Prior to joining Middlebury College, Zahra taught at Hunter College CUNY.

Mark Orten is the Dean of Spiritual and Religious Life and Director of the Scott Center. In his various roles, he works to make spiritual and religious life relevant, central, and visible on campus. Supporting all mature religious expressions alongside worldviews of no faith is a lifelong commitment reflecting his own pluralistic journey. Prior to coming to Middlebury, Dean Orten served for thirteen years as director of the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life and University Chaplain at Denison University. Before that, he was the Presbyterian Chaplain at Princeton University for eleven years (1992 to 2003). He holds a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MA in Divinity from the Princeton Theological Seminary. Dean Orten is ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Rabbi Danielle Stillman is the Associate Chaplain at Middlebury College. In her rabbinic role, she advises the Hillel student organization, leads services for major Jewish holidays and acts as a resource and educator for all things Jewish on campus. As a chaplain, she works with all students to create opportunities for multi-faith encounters, contemplative practice, and pastoral counseling. She is passionate about deep listening, dialogue, foodways, and the intersection of spirituality and the outdoors. She received a BA from Oberlin College, an MTS from Harvard Divinity School, and a Master in Hebrew Letters and Rabbinic Ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

Jo Opot ‘05

Jo Opot is a Middlebury alumna who grew up in Nairobi. She started her professional career working for the United Nations in Kenya, Russia, and the USA. She then joined StartingBloc, a social innovators fellowship program in New York as the Director of Programs and subsequently became the Executive Director. Following this, Ms. Opot was the Global VP of Business Development at TerraCycle, where she grew the company’s partnerships from six countries to twenty-two markets. She also worked at Acumen, where she backed companies and leaders that were innovatively tackling poverty as Head of Business Development in San Francisco and then as Head of Leadership and Strategy in Nairobi. She then helped found Gather, which invests in ventures that both create climate resilience and drive asset creation for women and girls across Africa, with a focus on income generation and asset creation.

Ms. Opot is a recipient of the Sundance Eco-Warrior Award and a Social Venture Network fellow and has been featured in the New York Times and Fast Company. She holds a BA in Political Science and French from Middlebury College and a Master’s in Sustainability from the University of Cambridge.

Matt Sommerville ‘02

Matt Sommerville graduated from Middlebury in 2002 with a degree in biology. He went on to earn an MSc in Environmental Change and Management from Oxford, and a PhD from Imperial College London, where his research focused on the economics of conservation. More specifically, he worked to understand what motivates people to protect natural resources when the incentives aren’t obvious. In the years since, he’s worked across Zambia, Mozambique, Ghana, Malawi, Madagascar, Vietnam, India, and more. He coordinated marine conservation research, directed an international school in Switzerland, and built deep expertise in one of the most overlooked corners of global development: land rights. Today Matt is a Senior Associate at Tetra Tech. He works with governments, local chiefs, and rural communities across multiple countries to formally document land tenure. He connects that work directly to climate resilience, food security, and economic opportunity for some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.

Sena Voncujovi ‘17

Sena Voncujovi is a Middlebury alumnus who grew up in Ghana and Japan and who is the Head of Africa–China Engagement and Business Development at GoGoLocal, where he works with innovators, entrepreneurs, and universities to engage with China’s fast-growing markets and innovation ecosystems. He also serves as Vice President of Public Relations at AIESEC the world’s largest youth-led leadership organization active in over 120 countries. Previously, Sena was an Africa–China Policy Analyst and Diplomatic Liaison at Development Reimagined, where he supported preparations for and follow-up to FOCAC 9, working closely with African governments, the African Union mission in China, UN agencies, and Chinese stakeholders. Mr. Voncujovi holds a BA in International Politics & Economics and African Studies from Middlebury College and a Master’s in China Studies from Peking University. In 2021, he was named one of the 100 Most Influential People of African Descent Under 40 by MIPAD. As a third-generation traditional African healer (Bokor), he founded Revodution to preserve and demystify West African spiritual and herbal medicine.