Mark Lewis Schneider (born 1941) served as the 15th director of the Peace Corps (1999–2001).
Education and Peace Corps Service
Schneider grew up in Antioch, California, where he attended Antioch High School and was class salutatorian. Schneider attended U.C. Berkeley on a four-year scholarship and graduated in 1963 majoring in journalism.
Schneider called his Peace Corps service "the most illuminating, rewarding and exhausting period of my life. "The opportunity to follow so many distinguished men and women who preceded me as Peace Corps Director also carries a certain degree of humility. From the Honorable R. Sargent Shriver to Loret Ruppe and Senator Paul Coverdell to Carol Bellamy and my immediate predecessor, Mark Gearan, there is an enormous legacy to which I pledge to contribute to the best of my ability," Schneider added.
Situation in Pakistan
In an Op-ed piece in the August 15, 2007 issue of the Boston Globe, "Getting answers on Pakistan," Schneider argued that time is running out on the military dictatorship in Pakistan and that the United States can either support a return to democracy or sit on the sidelines and watch Pakistan slide in chaos. "The Pakistani people have registered their desire for a democratic transition with street protests, which have been met by guns and gas. This increasingly vocal opposition, spearheaded by the bar associations, human rights groups, and the media, is channeling public resentment to military rule," Schneider added.
Honors
Schneider was the recipient of the Bernardo O'Higgins Medal for human rights work from the Government of Chile.