Joe Ferrara has served on the CBLDF Board of Directors since 2005. Ferrara has been a pillar of the comics retail community since opening his legendary store Atlantis Fantasyworld in Santa Cruz, CA in 1976. Ferrara is an outspoken advocate for the retailing community, and the administrator of the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailing Award. He replaces Greg Ketter of DreamHaven Books, who recently retired from the Board after 18 years of service.



"It's a great honor to follow in Greg's footsteps," Ferrara says. "He was with the Fund from the beginning, and did a great deal to make it the strong organization that it is today. I'll do my very best to live up to his fine example by helping the Fund meet the challenges facing today's comics retailers."
Chris Powell is the General Manager of Lone Star Comics and MyComicShop.com, an 8-store chain and mail-order business specializing in comic books, games, toys, and collectibles for over 30 years. Since joining Lone Star in 1989, Powell has worked at every level of the organization. Starting in a part-time sales position, he has also managed stores, worked in the back office, and now handles the customer service, operations, and IT development for their retail locations and mail order. Chris is also a member of the Founding Board and President Pro-Tempore of ComicsPRO, the trade organization supporting comics retailers and the Direct Market. He chairs the ComicsPRO Mentoring Committee, serves on the Advisory Board for the Game Store Resource Forum, and writes the "Comic Sense" article for F+W Publications' Comic and Games Retailer Magazine.



"I was honored to be asked to serve on the CBLDF's Board of Directors," Powell says. "I am in some truly great company. Having seen what harm the encroachment of First Amendment rights can do to a business, in this case fellow Dallas, TX store Keith's Comics, I feel that the retail community, creators, publishers, and distributors must continue to do all that we can to support one another. The CBLDF gives us the best means to do that, and I look forward to helping the Fund work with my fellow retailers in new and exciting ways."



CBLDF President Chris Staros says, "We're thrilled to be working with Joe and Chris, who are true assets to the Fund. The CBLDF strives to represent the needs of all facets of the comics business, and the make up of our board is especially important for achieving that goal. Joe and Chris are two of the best advocates for the retail community out there, and we're proud to bring their strengths to bear for the Fund in the years to come."