David F. Mendez is a filmmaker, educator, and doctoral candidate in Organizational Leadership and Evaluation at the University of the Incarnate Word whose research explores the intersection of digital communities, audience reception, and transcultural media flows. His scholarship examines how online fan communities reinterpret and transform cultural meaning across languages and media, with a particular focus on the evolving use of the Japanese term nakama within the One Piece fandom in the United States. Using digital ethnography, his research investigates how digital audiences negotiate identity, belonging, and shared cultural narratives in an increasingly interconnected media landscape.
Mendez earned both his B.A. and M.A. in Communication Arts from the University of the Incarnate Word and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in audio production, radio, and digital filmmaking at UIW and NVC. As the founder of Silent Flight Media and producer of the Film Noobs Podcast, he brings extensive experience in filmmaking, podcasting, and independent media production into the classroom. His work has been recognized at national and international film festivals, and he is passionate about helping students find their voice as storytellers while developing the technical and creative skills to bring those stories to life. Whether in the classroom, on set, or through research, Mendez believes storytelling is about helping people discover their voice, use it with purpose, and create stories that foster connection, understanding, and communities where everyone has a place to belong.