Mark Schroeder thrives on challenges, whether living in a mud hut in Zambia with a creek as the only source of water, or sleeping on the ground in the coastal rainforest at the border of Ghana and Ivory Coast while waiting for dawn and the border's opening. Long before he became Stratfor's vice president of Africa analysis, Mark was an undergrad hungry for meaningful and substantial personal growth.

Statesman. Nobel Prize laureate. Alleged War Criminal. Henry Kissinger is a man who arouses fierce condemnation in his critics and fervent defense in his supporters. How he is remembered depends largely on whom you ask to remember him. Fortunately, you won't have to ask Stratfor Chief Geopolitical Analyst Robert D. Kaplan.

Stratfor regularly mentions in its China coverage that China is "an island." This is not literally true, of course, but it's a useful way to think about the country and its geographic situation. China shares land borders with 14 other nations, and yet it is among the most geographically insulated countries in the world.

Karen Hooper's route to becoming Stratfor's Director of Latin America Analysis began near the U.S. border in Arizona, where she grew up regularly traveling to northern Mexico. Her interest in Mexico grew into a passion for international affairs in general and Latin America in particular.