Meet Our People

"Captain" Kyle Williamson is a cosplayer, actor, writer, fan and author of "The Elements of Cosplay: The Costume and Beyond." He has also interviewed hundreds of actors, authors and cosplayers and has moderated panels for conventions such as Wizard World, Retro Con, Terrificon, Farpoint and Shore Leave to name a few. You can follow him on Twitter @captainkylepa and Instagram @captainkylephilly.

Mae, known on the internet as Maeden, is a cosplayer, writer, editor, photographer, videographer, and whatever else she needs to be. You can find her on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter as @MaedenArt

When she's not writing about pop culture for Fandom Spotlite, curating social media for the*gameHERS, or helping to produce the DB4L podcast, she is a single mom to the coolest kid in the world. In Yali's free time she likes to bake, exercise, watch horror films, and play Mario Kart. Yali's goal as a writer is to share her nontraditional and colorful view of the world with readers everywhere.

Rachel is a fandom nerd who loves to create new stories. Outside of Fandom Spotlite you can find her writing books, chatting about all things pop culture related, and gushing about all things bookish on her book blog, Life of a Female Bibliophile. When Rachel is not busy writing you can find her jamming out to anime OSTs, indulging in a good cup of coffee, or watching too many K-Dramas. Check out her middle-grade debut novel (Lost Love: My First Boyfriend) available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. You can follow her on Twitter at @bibliophilelyfe and Instagram at @lifeofafemalebibliophile.

Mitch Hallock is the creator/producer of TERRIFICON, CT’s #1 Comic Con and CTGAMERCON. He is cohost of the Power Cosmic podcast with Jerry Ordway, a news correspondent for The IndyCast podcast and TheRaider.net since 2007, cohost of Mitch & Ed’s Excellent Adventure and the “King of the Nerds” on the Chaz & AJ morning radio show since 2010.

Joseph “Joe” Davis has love for all things in pop culture. From Alignment charts to Zombies, he’s always up to chat about the weird, wonderful world of geekdom. When not indulging his inner nerd, Joe is a husband and has far too many cats, living in a suburb southeast of Houston, where he almost constantly plays video games, board games and tabletop roleplaying games, which he’s done for almost his whole life.

Born and raised in Yorkshire, England - Scott is very passionate about the Film and TV industry, and enjoys discussing it whenever he can. He is a life-long supporter of the Manchester United soccer team, and attends games regularly during the Premier League season. He is a great lover of travel and has visited many places over the years. In his spare time, he loves attending conventions, playing sports and getting out into nature. Scott's goal is to follow his passion for writing, explore new ways in which he can create content in the entertainment industry, and engage with like-minded people along the way.

As a filmmaker, writer, and artist, Ian Klink’s work includes the feature film Anybody’s Blues, his thesis film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands, and the short story Aurora’s Pond for The Creeps Magazine. Klink shares his talents as a teacher of Computer Technology and Video Production in Pennsylvania.

Matthew Portter is the epitome of a 90's baby, He considers himself a connoisseur in the fine arts of "nerd" culture. Whether it be classics like Gundam Wing and Trigun or the new guard shows like Fire Force and My Hero Academia, his love for anime and superhero lore ABSOLUTELY shaped his development as a creative, performer, and as a human being. When he is not following his fandom he is the Co-host/Co-creator of the EiTHER Podcast(the Elephant in the Room podcast) which you can find on Apple, Spotify, and Anchor.

Jaz Bielby formerly was the Wizard World Social Media Coordinator and is currently a member of the Vancouver Master Chorale. Her skills at singing and advanced knowledge of musicals are the reason she’s called, “Fandom Spotlight's Musical Expert.” She is looking forward to her upcoming trip to New York to perform at Carnegie Hall with her current choir. A nerd since birth, a few of her favorite fandoms include the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Marvel, The Walking Dead, and True Crime. You can look forward to her future series here where she combines nerdiness and cooking!

Ellie Black is a poet, essayist, screenwriter, critic, and performer from the South. She’s been involved in fandom spaces for over a decade (RIP LiveJournal) and has a love/hate relationship with horror movies and the CW’s Supernatural. Find her on Twitter at @elliekblack.

Tiffany Padilla is a cryptid that enjoys anything horror and nerdy. They collect taxidermy frog purses and are best friends with the shadow person who lives in their closet. Tiffany's proudest nerd moment is they once played Tupac in a one-shot D&D campaign.

April Violet is as colorful and youthful as her name. The aspiring author spends her time enjoying anime and video games. Her work reflects her passion to anime and hopes to one day create an anime/manga of her own.

Martin Maruri is an avid fan of pop culture and movie trivia. In his spare time, Martin loves to watch horror movies, watch baseball and spend time with his lovely girlfriend. P.S...He also loves spending time with his French Bulldog named Tobin.

Gabby has been obsessed with anime since she was just 9 years old, and is proud to say she has watched over 200 different series. But that’s not even her biggest claim to fame: she also lives on a farm with over 80 goats! Although anime and animals are her two favorite things in the world, she also loves music, tattoos, books, witchcraft, food, Pokemon, Eurovision, and learning new languages. In addition to writing for Fandom Spotlite, she also works as a college writing tutor, a staff member at the New Jersey Renaissance Faire, a pet sitter, a substitute teacher, and, for the 2022-2023 school year, an English teaching assistant in northern France.

Kae, known to the internet as KaeWhatever, is a cosplayer, dancer, loser, chaotic disaster, and a fan of all things creepy and cute. She grew up on Sailor Moon and Scream, which she thinks really explains a lot to anyone who doesn’t quite understand what it means to have a Gemini rising with Mars in Aquarius. When she’s not busy performing or cosplaying you can usually find Kae hanging out with her friends or sleeping under a pile of stuffed animals. You can keep up with her cosplay content on TikTok and Instagram @kaewhatever!

Known to the internet as Great Northern Bean, Emma started her existence in anime fandom spaces convincing everyone she could that Bulbasaur is the superior starter pokemon and has held similarly strong opinions ever since. Her favorite titles include (but are not limited to) Hunter x Hunter, Deadman Wonderland, and Jujutsu Kaisen. Her goal is to have a full manga library (1000+ volumes) before her 30th birthday. Emma also enjoys crafting and getting lost in the woods.

Tristan is an avid gamer, plus an anime and manga connoisseur. In their free time, you can probably find them playing Genshin Impact or reading the newest Shonen manga. Their favorite fandoms are My Hero Academia, Overwatch, Genshin Impact, Chainsaw Man, and Jujutsu Kaisen.

Andrea 'Drea' Stuart is first and foremost an all-around purple-obsessed person. When she is not working at a nonprofit as a service coordinator or accumulating all things purple, you can catch her binge-watching shows and movies on streaming platforms. She loves to make things in her free time such as jewelry, sunglasses, and baking when the mood strikes. Nostalgia rules her closet and everything else in life. She is a Sagittarius, which makes her very open-minded, creative, and always looking out for ways to escape to her next adventure.

Ernesto is a lifelong gamer since the NES days. He mostly plans on PC but enjoys games on every platform. For the past 10 years, he has been making videos on the latest video games and tech. You might spot him at a convention doing interviews or trying out a new game.