San Marino Island, Croatia. http://www.find-croatia.com“Blessed is the person who finds what she’s meant to do with her life.” ~ Sonia, one of my meditation students at NY Methodist Hospital and a caregiver
I met Sonia at NY Methodist Hospital this past week during one of my meditation sessions in the Physical Rehab Unit. She is from Croatia and is now caring for her elderly mother. Her journey as a child refugee out of Croatia ultimately landed her in Park Slope Brooklyn, where she has lived ever since. That evening we took a traveling meditation in which we focused on a specific place as a point of concentration. Sonia emerged from the meditation with teary eyes and a peaceful heart. Though she has been in Brooklyn for so long, she misses her Croatia even now. Its beauty, its history, its people. “If you go through this life and never see Croatia, you are missing out,” she said. With that kind of endorsement, I dutifully added it to my list for future vacations.
We also got to talking about my work at the hospital. I told her about the transition I’m hoping to make, and surprised myself when I freely said, “I wish I could be doing the work I do here every day.” For some reason that statement made me both sad and glad. Glad that I had that kind of clarity, and sad that it is not yet my reality. Maybe Sonia sensed that wistfulness in me, because she offered up the simple quote at the top of this post. I may have offered her a meditation that night that allowed her to go home for a few moments, but she gave me much more of a lesson. To someone who’s lived a life of struggle, it seemed to her that my clarity of purpose was more than enough of a reason to be happy, to feel whole.
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
6 thoughts on “Beginning: Finding Your Way”
Thanks for documenting your journey, Christa. Every time I read your blog, I gain some new insights about work and life.
It’s great to know that your meditation sessions are working out and that you are making an important contribution to the lives of people. The service you provide helps to heal them.
Nostalgia is like a bitter-sweet experience for a lot of immigrants. The new home is embraced: there is a feeling of gratitude for all the new opportunities. However, this is tempered by a yearing for the old smells and flavours.
Many immigrants meet up with other immigrants on the weekends. While partying, they talk about the home they left behind. They carry this home wherever they are in the world.
It is not easy to forget the past. Even people who have wealth and success can become nostalgic when they listen to a folksy tune that reminds them of cherished moments.
Hi Archan,
The meditation does help. It really clears my mind and allows whatever needs to surface to surface, and then gives me a way to let it go as well. It’s an amazing gift to have the practice and to be able to share it with others.
Yoga is a new and exciting thing right now because its out of the ordinary for you. After a regular day of Monday work (or a weeks with of work that always feels like a Monday), yoga is the escape. it gives you a new feeling of accomplishment that the routine 9-5 doesn’t provide any longer
Unfortunately, there may be Yoga instructors that feel about Yoga the way you feel about your regular job…
Enjoy the ride while it lasts..if you feel that teaching Yoga as a full time job it is what you should be doing with your life, then find a way to make it pay the bills for you
Thanks for documenting your journey, Christa. Every time I read your blog, I gain some new insights about work and life.
It’s great to know that your meditation sessions are working out and that you are making an important contribution to the lives of people. The service you provide helps to heal them.
Nostalgia is like a bitter-sweet experience for a lot of immigrants. The new home is embraced: there is a feeling of gratitude for all the new opportunities. However, this is tempered by a yearing for the old smells and flavours.
Many immigrants meet up with other immigrants on the weekends. While partying, they talk about the home they left behind. They carry this home wherever they are in the world.
It is not easy to forget the past. Even people who have wealth and success can become nostalgic when they listen to a folksy tune that reminds them of cherished moments.
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Hi Archan,
The meditation does help. It really clears my mind and allows whatever needs to surface to surface, and then gives me a way to let it go as well. It’s an amazing gift to have the practice and to be able to share it with others.
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Do what you have to do to make yourself happy.
Yoga is a new and exciting thing right now because its out of the ordinary for you. After a regular day of Monday work (or a weeks with of work that always feels like a Monday), yoga is the escape. it gives you a new feeling of accomplishment that the routine 9-5 doesn’t provide any longer
Unfortunately, there may be Yoga instructors that feel about Yoga the way you feel about your regular job…
Enjoy the ride while it lasts..if you feel that teaching Yoga as a full time job it is what you should be doing with your life, then find a way to make it pay the bills for you
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The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinions.
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Не that will eat the kernel must crack the nut.
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I recommend you to take care of the minutes: for hours will take care of themselves.
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