Ross Borden is one of the founding members of Matador. He has lived in Spain, Kenya and Argentina and currently resides in his native San Francisco.

Ben Polansky is one of the founding members of Matador. He has lived in Spain, traveled in Asia and Africa, taught in Central America, and trekked and surfed his way through South America. He lives in San Francisco, where he manages a youth leadership program and travels vicariously through the Matador community.

Lola Akinmade edits Matador Goods. She is a writer, photographer, cartoonist, artist, GIS consultant, and many more personalities in between . She regularly shuttles between Sweden and the US and maintains a personal site - Geotraveler’s Niche. Drop her a line if you’ve stumbled across the coolest (yet practical!) gear out there.

David Miller is senior editor of Matador. As both a writer and editor, his main goal is publishing stories that, while rooted in a particular place, resonate with people everywhere.

Tim Patterson splits time between his small farm in Vermont and the wilds of Southeast Asia. When in range of a WiFi signal, he co-edits Brave New Traveler and contributes across the Matador Network.

Ian MacKenzie is the founder of Brave New Traveler. He has since taken over managing the network. Aside from writing, designing, and filmmaking, he spends his time exploring the fundamental nature of existence and wishing he did more backpacking.

Christine Garvin is a certified Nutrition Educator and holds a MA in Holistic Health Education. She is co-editor of Brave New Traveler and a featured author at Healthier Talk. When she is not out traveling the world, she is busy writing, doing yoga, and performing hip-hop and bhangra. She also likes to pretend living in her hippie town of Fairfax, CA is like being on vacation. Visit her website.

Tom lives in New York with his television and 14 pairs of socks. He is prone to bouts of Awaysickness and travels often. He knows the only deli in Manhattan that sells Beer Lao but will not disclose the location, for fear of a mass beer run and the subsequent shortage that would follow. He’s also the editor of MatadorLife.

Julie Schwietert Collazo writes, edits, researches, translates, and produces multimedia projects in collaboration with her husband, Francisco Collazo, going wherever a story beckons. She currently lives in Mexico City and New York City. She is the managing editor of Matador. She’s always looking for untold stories… so if you’ve got one, shoot her a line.

Carlo (don’t call him Carlos) is a co-editor at Matador Trips. An ex-Vancouverite who now calls the world his home, he is currently settled in Melbourne where he has a snowball’s chance in hell of watching ice hockey. He and his wife are currently trying to crack the code to sustain the vagabonding life with the least amount of work possible.

Hal is permanently on the road, desperately attempting to maintain that happy balance between freelance employment and the sweet, sweet rewards of slow travel. Co-editor of Matador Trips, he’s currently in South America, bouncing between volunteer opportunities, intensive Spanish courses, and street food stands.

Matador Contributing Editor Sarah Menkedick is a freelance writer based in Oaxaca, Mexico. Her writing has appeared in print and online publications, including Literary Traveler, Abroad View magazine, and National Geographic Glimpse. She has traveled, lived, and taught on five continents, and is constantly in pursuit of spicy food, dark beer, and new places to run. Keep up with her on her blog.

Joshua Johnson is a soggy Seattle based adventurer with a penchant for misty mountains and black coffee. He wishes to extend greetings & goodwill to all life in the kosmos and invites everyone out for some sushi. With his super heroine wife, Bridget O’Neill, he founded Confluence Creative Media in ‘07 and is well on his way to taking over the world.

Michelle is a musician, writer, and teacher just trying to see the world while doing what she loves for a living. After a fantastic year in Salvador, Brazil, she is now teaching ESL in South Korea with her husband and chocolate lab. In addition to traveling and writing, Michelle plays the steel drum in several bands and is an aspiring novelist. She’s addicted to coffee and loves trying new food, the spicier the better.

Leigh moves around a lot. She’s lived in five countries and spent the last three years traveling with her husband Noah and daughter Lila. For now, she’s finding home in Salta, Argentina where she writes, teaches and is taking a deep breath before the next move. You can read more about her travels on her blog.

Kate Sedgwick edits Matador Nights from Buenos Aires where she teaches English, learns Spanish and thoroughly enjoys herself. Her art and writing have appeared in print and on-line publications and her novel in progress will be received with prurient glee by critics of American culture if it ever gets into their grubby little hands.

Juliane Huang currently resides in her native California, working as the San Francisco coordinator for international students arriving for work study programs. As a child of immigrant parents, she has a strong, vested interest in stories of people experiencing life in different cultures. Follow her on her blog.

Candice Walsh works in a lighthouse and is a technical writer for a deep sea technology company in Canada. When she isn’t writing about sonar equipment, she’s shooting whiskey and hitting on men, or eating nachos and dreaming about travel. She’s currently stationed in St. John’s, Newfoundland, although the soul-sucking winters are encouraging her to hit the road again. Check out her blog, Candace Does The World.

JoAnna Haugen is a globe trotter, former Peace Corps volunteer and avid recycler who writes from Las Vegas, where she can often be found planning her next great adventure. Follow her journeys at Kaleidoscopic Wandering.

Andy is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. When he’s not hanging out with the Twitterati or lining up ammunition for the Matador Twitter account, he’s helping small businesses in travel & tourism understand blogging and social media. He also writes for travel blogs and magazines, including his own, Sharing Experiences.

Alan is originally from Los Angeles, CA, but now resides in Florida. Most of his travels have been to throughout the Americas and the Caribbean.

Shawn Hanna is nestled snuggly in the San Francisco Bay Area after quite the jaunt. His recent adventures include chasing monkeys in Costa Rica, eating fried camembert in Eastern Europe, river surfing in the UK, and pretending to be Bob Dylan in France. He digs the forest, the camera, and the pen, and eventually wants to own a goat on his urban farm.

Nancy Harder is a musician, writer, and photographer with an affinity for yoga and meditation. She holds an M.M. in Collaborative Piano. When not capturing paradigms and reflections through different mediums, she is searching the globe for the best vegan cuisine. Check out her blog.

Abbie is a freelance writer and preschool Special Ed. teacher who spends her vacations experiencing as much of the world as possible. Check out her blog at MilesofAbbie.com.

Neha is a freelance writer from Mumbai, currently based in Zagreb. She started off writing advertising copy before realizing there wasn’t much writing to be done there. These days she spends her time between her laptop and her favourite cafe. She’s probably there right now sipping coffee, paperback in hand. Check our her blog.