Our story
A family business of remembering.
Beyond the Vision was founded as a family storytelling nonprofit in Peachtree City, Georgia by a filmmaker and a writer who have sat in hospital waiting rooms themselves.
Our mission
To preserve the life stories and legacies of people affected by chronic or terminal illness and life-changing injury, through meaningful storytelling that honors their lives and inspires others.
Our vision
A world where every life story is honored, every legacy is preserved, and every journey has the power to inspire generations.
Honored
The participant directs the story. We hold the camera.
Preserved
Professional quality, delivered in formats a family can keep for decades.
Inspiring
With permission, stories that help other families feel less alone.
Co-founders
The family behind every story
Beyond the Vision was founded by Angela M. Bartel and Edward C. Bartel II, a husband-and-wife team of a writer-editor and an award-winning documentary filmmaker. Their professional work and their family's own experiences shaped the foundation's mission: helping families hold on to the voices and stories they love.
Angela M. Bartel is co-founder of Beyond the Vision, where she brings more than 20 years of administrative, transcription and program experience and six years as a professional editor and ghostwriter. She helps shape how each family's story is captured, written and preserved.
Angela began her career in verbatim transcription, documenting police reports and recorded statements for local and federal law enforcement agencies. That work led her to transcribing sermons and turning them into published books for ministries nationwide. Her administrative career includes the Los Angeles Urban League, where she managed eligibility and enrollment for a transitional employment program; the City of Carson, where she supported the Director of Public Works and prepared commission agendas and minutes; and Tyler Perry Studios. She is currently an administrative associate with MWS & Associates, supporting a business development program that guides small businesses through certification.
In 2020, Angela founded A Marie Creative Services, an editing and self-publishing firm that carries emerging authors from manuscript to print through developmental editing, ghostwriting, proofreading, formatting and publishing support. She is completing a Bachelor of Arts in English and Creative Writing at Southern New Hampshire University, where she holds a 4.0 GPA. She is a member of Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society and The National Society of Leadership and Success.
Angela M. Bartel
Co-founder · Writer and Editor
Edward C. Bartel II is co-founder of Beyond the Vision, where he brings more than 40 years of filmmaking experience and a body of work that includes more than 50 documentaries. He leads the visual storytelling that brings each family's story to the screen.
Edward began making films at age 12 in Detroit and earned an associate degree in mass media while still in high school. He built his early career in Hollywood as a union lighting designer on feature films, television series and music videos, working with artists including Michael Jackson, Beyoncé and Elton John.
In 2000, Edward turned to independent documentary work with Fa'a Samoa: A Samoan Story. His 2015 film From Watts to Senegal premiered at the Pan African Film Festival, and Unbelievable: The Art Williams Story (2023) won 25 awards at 42 film festivals. His credits also include a documentary marking the League of Women Voters' centennial and the award-winning series Transformed. For more than 15 years, he has told stories on behalf of nonprofit organizations across the country.
Edward C. Bartel II
Co-founder · Filmmaker
Why we started
We have lived the waiting-room hours ourselves.
For Angela and Edward, this work comes from the heart. They have watched people they love face cancer, and they know that when cancer or another life-changing illness or injury touches a family, what matters most often is a voice, a memory, or a story told in a loved one's own words. Beyond the Vision exists so that no family has to let those moments slip away, and so their stories can be treasured for generations to come.
Angela
Angela's commitment to this work is personal. She was in the third grade when her father was diagnosed with cancer, and she lost him when she was 19. She knows how deeply a family longs to hold on to a loved one's voice, and she brings that understanding to every family Beyond the Vision serves.
Edward
Edward watched his father and his brother each face prostate cancer, and his work has long centered on people whose lives have been changed by hard circumstances. He has seen how being heard can draw a family closer and move audiences who never met them. That conviction is at the heart of Beyond the Vision.
Together
The losses each of them has known led Angela and Edward to found Beyond the Vision. The foundation unites Angela's writing and editing with Edward's filmmaking so that other families can preserve the voices and stories of the people they love.
LEADERSHIP
Board and advisors
Board members serve two-year terms without compensation. In our launch phase the board serves in an advisory role.
Angela Bartel
President & CEO
Edward C. Bartel II
Vice President
Pamela Askew
Secretary
Darlene Beckles
Treasurer
Dr. Maria Williams-Slaughter
Board Member
Beth Pitton-August
Board Member
Bobby Mardis
Board Member
John Aaron Mays
Board Member
Accountability
How we handle your trust and your money
Board oversight
Bylaws approved in October 2026 and an eight-member board seated. The Treasurer reports to the board at every regular meeting.
Spending controls
Every payment of $2,500 or more needs two authorized signers, one of them the President, Vice President or Treasurer.
Tax status
Beyond the Vision is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law.