Mr. Schneider holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a co-founder of the California Wilderness Coalition (1976) and the founder of Tuleyome (2002), a regional environmental organization. He has served as a director of California’s Central Valley Water Quality Control Board, responsible for oversight of the irrigated lands program. He also has been a builder and developer, and is an avid hiker and mountaineer.