David Alvarado is an award-winning documentary filmmaker who brings to life stories of trailblazers in science, the arts, and human rights. His journey began as a high school dropout interning at Dallas PBS affiliate KERA, where he moved from marketing to production, discovering his calling behind the camera. He co-founded Structure Films in New York City with Jason Sussberg.

His work as director, producer, and cinematographer includes four feature documentaries: THE IMMORTALISTS (2014), BILL NYE: SCIENCE GUY (2017), BLOOD SUGAR RISING (2020), and WE ARE AS GODS (2022). He has directed and produced for PBS’s NOVA series, including WHO’S IN CONTROL (2023) and SECRETS IN YOUR DATA (2024), and produced INDEPENDENT LENS’ three-part series MATTER OF MIND (2023–2025). He also hosted and produced an eight-part Audible Original podcast on environmental technologist Stewart Brand.

Alvarado has developed innovative funding approaches, from record-breaking Kickstarter campaigns and branded partnerships with Stripe to NFT initiatives. A Stanford Documentary Film MFA graduate, he has earned fellowships at WGBH Producers Academy and Sundance Institute’s Producers Workshop, and was named to DOC NYC’s “40 Under 40 Filmmakers to Watch.” A longtime member of NALIP and a Chicano filmmaker, Alvarado is committed to using documentary storytelling to foster a more thoughtful world—a path inspired early on by Luis Valdez.