Sachi Cunningham is a California based photographer, filmmaker and Professor Emerita at San Francisco State University.

For over two decades her lens has focused on women and the pioneers of big wave surfing. Cunningham’s feature length documentary, SheChange, about the quest for pay equity in big wave surfing is in post production and has been featured in the New York Times and on the Today Show. She started the first video team at the LA Times, where she produced the award winning video series Chasing the Swell, which documents the first ever Big Wave World Tour. She made the first pictures ever published in Surfer Magazine taken from the perspective of the water at Ocean Beach in San Francisco, where she is known for “swimming out and shooting longer than anyone” according to Surfline Editor Marcus Sanders. Other “female firsts” include serving as the first female board member of Save the Waves Coalition and first woman to receive the Wave Saver Award from the non-profit. Cunningham documented the first women’s heats at the Mavericks WickrX Invitational, Puerto Escondido Big Wave Challenge, Da Hui Backdoor Shootout, Eddie and Thriller at Killers. She has been included in both Surfline’s list of top filmmakers and Surfer Magazine’s list of top photographers. Cunningham holds a BA in history from Brown University and a Masters of Journalism from UC Berkeley. A mental health advocate and cancer survivor, she lives with her husband and 12-year old daughter in the Outer Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco.