Alison Victor has deep roots in the San Francisco Bay area and is an award winning documentarian whose passion is to give voice to unconventional stories that need to be told and find the meaning and understanding of the message within.

Her initiation into the world of documentary started in 2002 as an assistant camera person and segment producer for a UK based documentary production entitled "Around the World in 80 Ways." The story focuses on the exploits of three adventurous travelers with physical disabilities who are making their way around the world using 80 ways of transportation. The take-away message that is portrayed is that what some see as obstacles, this adventure team see as opportunities. The intention of the video is to inspire people into thinking of disability in a positive way.

Simultaneously while helping to make this video, Alison was producing and directing "Sailors First" as an undergraduate project within the department of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts of San Francisco State University. This uplifting video is an inspiring human interest story of the members of the Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors (BAADS) and leaves the viewer with the conclusion that "It is not what you can't do — it is what you can do that counts". Within the body of the story, a number of individuals reveal their stories of how they became disabled and, collectively, how their love of competitive sailing drove them to be winners. As one sailor quipped, "When we sail, we don't talk about disability or civil rights, we are sailors, first and foremost."

Besides writing the documentary, Alison and Rob Bertoglio wrote, performed and recorded the accompanying music. The video won Best in Festival from the Berkley Video and Film Festival in 2003 and won an Emmy (P.J. Marino award) for Best Producer from The National Association of Television Arts and Sciences in 2004. The video was played extensively by Fox Sports. SFSU Students in media created this website for the film: www.sailorsfirst.com