Good question! I’ll find out tonight at the taping of an ABC News Special that Barbara Walters and Dr. Helen Fischer are co-hosting with chemistry.com. The event will take place at Mansion, a new venue in Chelsea. 50 men / 50 women – all from similar backgrounds and looking for love. This sounded a touch wacky at first but the opportunity seems so intriguing that I couldn’t possibly let it pass by.
Dr. Fischer is an anthropologist at Rutgers University, and she studies the brain in love. I figure if she has made her life’s work to find out how and why people fall for one another, the least I can do is add myself as a data point to her research. In January, Barbara Walters will present an hour long ABC News Special on Dr. Fisher’s forthcoming book, WHY HIM? WHY HER? Understanding Your Personality Type and Finding Your Soul Mate.
Maybe I’ll find the love of my life, or even just get a few good dates out of the evening, and at the very least I’ll collect some good stories.
Published by Christa Avampato
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
Hi Christa!I attended the event at Mansion in NYC. I met a lot of great people at the event. Did you have a good time?
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Hi Matt,Thanks for commenting on my blog. I had a great time – lots of very interesting people and a great venue!
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Did you get the people you had an interest in dropped into your chemistry account? We were also supposed to get a month free so we can contact them. I haven’t heard or seen anything from them since the event. I hope they do it soon as it would be pretty lame to make people wait a few weeks.
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hi christa, you posted on my blog about that chemistry event last week and i am just now getting around to your blog. very cool! we have similar interests — media, meditation and men!very cool space you’ve got here — i’ll be back. and bummer about your car.
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Hi Matt,I didn’t get anyone with an interest dropped into my chemistry.com account. Wish they had done that. They contacted me via email and set me up to go on a date next Sunday with one of the guys I spoke to. I agree that I hope they connect people via chemistry.com quickly!
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Hey Col,Thanks for reading my blog and for your kind comment. I am bummed about my car though it seems that all is on the mend now, fingers crossed!We do have similar interests – what could be better than media, meditation, and men?? :)-Christa
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Hey Christa – I don’t know if you believe in destiny but I have a funny story to tell you! I was not a paying member on Chemistry when they invited me to the event. As a matter of fact, it’s been about a year since I was a paying member. Anyway :), they hooked us up with a free month starting today, so I figured I would go in there and clean out the 100+ people “interested in me” section that has accumulated over time. They NEED to make it easier to move people to the archive section. So I am looking at all the people and clicking “no” 10 times when I come across an interesting woman who sent me a message a while back. She was interested in getting to know me. Guess who that is? YOU!!! Small world, eh?We should talk! I just sent you a note back via Chemistry. Looking forward to speaking with you!!!- Matt
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Just read your response and feel like an idiot!!! Haha!Let me know how your date goes!!
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Hey Matt,You should totally not feel like an idiot! I’m going out with this guy this weekend though I know hardly anything about him as we talked for about 5 minutes at that event. I’d definitely like to meet you. Will send you a note back on chemistry. -Christa
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