David Blair
Founder & CEO | Head of Marketing
Musician, lover of fandom and film, marketer, and complete mad lad — David Blair is the embodiment of the term "mad scientist," but in the best way possible. Building Fanward with nothing but a dream and a whole lot of crazy, David set out on a journey most people would never even attempt: creating a place where actors, musicians, and performers could meet their fans on a level never before seen.
Even as CEO and head of the marketing division, he regularly slides into meet-and-greets, Facebook groups, Messenger conversations, and videos just to be a part of what Fanward is, what it wants to be, and what it means to all of the fans taking part in it.
David Blair's one-on-one, open-door policy with the people he works with creates a level of transparency and trust that most CEOs never reach. He is both the father and the brother of Fanward — a friend when needed, and the data-driven mind needed to propel Fanward's creative endeavors into the stratosphere.
Olivia Blair
Co-Founder & Creative Director | Artist Liaison | Head Content Planner
Olivia Blair is a self-professed alien and the emotional equivalent of that one dog from the Looney Tunes who always bounced around saying, "Throw the ball, throw the ball, when ya gonna throw the ball, Spike!?"
Co-Founder and head of the fan-club side of Fanward, Olivia is the conduit through which the creativity flows — the hubs, the content, the Fanlings, the Comics. All of it. An advocate for ideas, originality, and creative freedom, she is the lightning rod through which Fanward's electricity flows.
Top that off with the fact that she could have a conversation with a Q-tip and draw its hopes and dreams to light, and you have the key that ultimately unlocks everything Fanward is and seeks to become. From being a podcast host who will talk to anyone willing, to being the emotional anchor of Fanward's backend — Olivia is the engine.
Miguel Calderon
Co-Founder | Content Editor | Creative Lead | Creator of Dumu
Miguel Calderon wanted me to put "video editor" as his title, and it felt like a slight — because Miguel Calderon is so much more. If Olivia is the engine of Fanward, then Miguel is the ever-igniting fuel. Video editor, yes, but at his heart Miguel is a creative powerhouse with a vision even he finds impossible to satiate.
The driving force behind not only Fanward's video content but a creative voice across the many aspects of lore Fanward has created within its own characters and stories — including Dumu, who has since become an almost mythical character even behind the scenes — Miguel is not only the creative fuel, but the voice that sometimes says "What if we do this?" and an entire world ends up built around it.
Miguel has been with Fanward since David was building it from sticks and mud in his backyard (canon, don't fight me), and he has been an inspiration to every single person on the team — not only creatively, but through his personal strength, his resilience, and his willingness to evolve as Fanward did.
Cody Redd
Chief Creative Officer | Creator of Jelly & the Fanlings | Creator of Fanward Comics | Creator of Calder Coldwater | Creator of Beyond the Morning | Fanward Experience Creator and Web Designer
Well... this is me, so how does one talk about themselves without sounding pretentious?
I am, before anything else, a husband. I love my wife (no, she didn't tell me to type this here, I swear). But beyond that, I'm just a flesh-and-bone bucket full of ideas. I joined the Fanward team when chance and luck met, and have been with them ever since. Creator and designer of Jelly and the Fanlings; creator and designer of the experience hubs and all of the stories you encounter within each of them; creator and designer of the Fanward Comics characters and their individual stories; designer of the Fanward website; designer of most of the Fanward merch. If someone asked me my job title, I'm not sure I could answer.
But Fanward has become as much a product of me as I have become a product of it. Working with David, Olivia, Miguel, our whole team, the artists, and more has only done even more to surface my creativity and bring it to life. My goal with Fanward — and with this site — is for everyone who comes here to have an experience that makes them want to spend more time with us.
Oh, and co-host with Olivia on the Podcast. I do that too.
EJ Redd
Creative Programmer | Short-Form Content Social Media Lead | Analytics & GEO/AEO Optimization | Cody's Son
EJ Redd is only 18 years old. He's been making music since he was 11 and started practicing coding and programming as early as 14. Completely self-taught, EJ has proven that sometimes a degree is too slow — some people just work a little faster.
A music producer and musician at heart, EJ's love for music, programming, and gaming has shaped his entire creative and productive destiny, showing him what "can" be done and leading him to figure out "how" to do it.
He has had his hands in so many of Fanward's big backend victories over the last two years, and has proven that when he can actually focus on something, he can make it mean way more than it was ever intended to. With the youngest eyes on the team and a social-media-led, algorithm-focused "brain," my son — I mean... EJ — has been a valuable proponent of the team.
Deborah "Debbie" Jenkins
Chief Community Lead | Olivia's Mom | Everybody's Mom
Debbie is Clara Cluck — you know, that hen from the Mickey Mouse cartoons who was always dancing and singing? I don't know why, but that's who Debbie reminds me of. She also reminds me of every mom, every grandma, every neighbor who bakes cookies and brings you some.
Debbie is a rocking chair, a sturdy porch, and a steady rain. She's presents under a warmly lit Christmas tree in a snowstorm; she's a Sears shopping catalogue in the '90s; she's your favorite comfort food, your favorite comfort book. Debbie is — comfort.
And who better than that to be the head of our community? Constantly engaging, consistently caring, persistently compassionate. To Debbie, every word matters. To Debbie, every person matters. To Debbie, every idea matters. And that means you, too.
Liu Redd
Customer Service | Cody's Wife | Tolerator of Cody
Liu is my wife — my beautiful, loving, amazing, fantastic, cat-loving wife. She's also a lot of the reason our stuff works.
Having worked at an airport for like 100 years, Liu has dealt with the ups and downs of customer service and has brought that experience to Fanward — not just as a "customer service agent" (ew, that sounds miserably dull), but as someone who has a finger on the pulse of what Fanward is, what our fandoms mean to people, and the personal connections people have to these things, no matter how miniscule they may seem to some. She's married to a guy with a room covered in K-pop merch, anime figures, and video games — trust me... she knows.
Liu approaches every email with the same intent you see on every page of this website and in every video from our artists: to make you feel like you have a place to go, to call your own, and to be a part of — without a corporate suit breathing down your neck about what to enjoy or how to enjoy it.