Jim Benning cofounded the award-winning online travel magazine World Hum and has served as deputy travel editor of BBC.com. His writing has appeared in many publications, including Men's Journal, Outside, National Geographic Adventure, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times.

Thomas Swick is the author of Unquiet Days: At Home in Poland and A Way to See the World: From Texas to Transylvania with a Maverick Traveler. His work has appeared in The Best American Travel Writing 2001, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2014.

Pam Mandel is a freelance writer and photographer and early adopter of online media; she started blogging in 1997. Her travel stories have been published in the SF Chronicle, AFAR, Lonely Planet, The Travel Channel, and more. She has spoken about new media and travel at dozens of conferences.

Janis Cooke Newman