Staff

Office Staff

Charles Brownstein,
Executive Director

Charles Brownstein has served as the Executive Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund since 2002.  During his years at the helm of the organization, the CBLDF has successfully managed several First Amendment cases, including a notable win in Georgia v. Gordon Lee, and successful participation in a wide variety of challenges to unconstitutional legislation.  Under Brownstein’s watch, the CBLDF has also grown its budget to accommodate a full-time staff of three people, a move to New York City, and an increasingly vital program of events across the United States.

In addition to his work leading the organization, Brownstein has also written extensively about comics for more than fifteen years. He entered the comic book industry in 1993 as the editor and publisher of Feature, a comics interview magazine, which ran for fourteen issues and included interviews with dozens of the industry’s most prominent creators.  He went on to continue writing about comics for a variety of websites and magazines, including Comic Book Resources, The Comics Journal, Publisher’s Weekly, Wizard, and Comicon.com, where he served as the lead news correspondent for The Splash from 2000 to 2002.

Brownstein also has extensive experience in event management.  He served as Programming Director for Comic-Con International in 1998 and 1999, where he developed and managed the panels and special events for Comic-Con International: San Diego and APE.  He also served as Programming Director for the Small Press Expo, for whom he also co-edited the Expo and SPX anthology series.

Since joining the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Brownstein has gone on to publish the Eisner and Eagle award winning interview book Eisner/Miller, and The Oddly Compelling Art of Denis Kitchen, to be released in 2010, both for Dark Horse Books.

Brownstein says, “My career in comics has always been driven by a desire to promote dialogue about the unique relationships between creativity and commerce that make comics the most vibrant medium of expression in the modern media landscape.  Serving that medium by helming the organization that watches after the First Amendment rights it depends upon to do what it does so well is an incredible privilege.”

Brady Bonney,
Operations Manager

Brady Bonney has lived and breathed the comics industry for the last thirteen years.  Most notably, he’s earned management positions at Internet retailer Things From Another World, and now holds the title of Operations Manager at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.  Originally from Portland, Oregon after a stint in Marfa, Texas, Brady moved to New York City to pursue his passion at the CBLDF.  Before moving to the East Coast, he has held a variety of other temporary and part time jobs including (but not limited to): reptile handler at a zoo, street performer, and buyer for a rare book store. When asked about his colorful employment history, Bonney said, “There is nothing I would rather be doing than working for the CBLDF. It’s where I belong.”

Cheyenne Allott,
Development Manager

Cheyenne has been reading funny books for over 20 years. She studied art at Portland State University and obtained an Art History Degree with honors and minored in over six physical art media.  After school she began working for Dark Horse Comics. She was an account executive there for two years and worked with a wide variety of contacts in and outside of the industry. After managing the in-house sales team, she decided to apply her successes in the field to the services of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. When asked about the change Allott said “It’s not everyday you can be good at something, and use that to benefit others. I consider myself quite lucky to have that opportunity.”

Website Staff

Alex Goldman,
Lead News Writer

Alex Goldman has had work featured on NPR’s On the Media, as well as in Readymade Magazine and Venues Magazine. He currently writes about pop culture and media at his blog TripleBurn. On his days off, you can find him riding his bike or playing music.

Seth Kushner Photography