Speaker Biographies

Sachi Cunningham (she/her) is a filmmaker, water surf photographer, and Associate Professor of Multimedia Journalism at San Francisco State University. Her award-winning work has taken her from the deserts of Iraq to the shores of the Amazon.

She was recruited to start the first video team at the LA Times, where she covered news around the globe, from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to chasing big wave swells down the coast of California. She has been featured in PBS Frontline, the New York Times and on the Today show. She has also been included in top surf magazines – on Surfline’s list of top filmmakers and on Surfer Magazine’s list of top photographers.

She has a B.A. from Brown University and a Master of Journalism from UC Berkeley. A mental health advocate, cancer survivor and mother, Cunningham lives with her husband and 10-year-old daughter in San Francisco, CA.