I made a donation to Reay for Life in honor of my mom this Mother's DayHappy Mother’s Day to all the moms of the world, those tireless champions of ours who believe we can and will do anything we set our hearts and minds to. This Mother’s Day instead of sending my mom flowers and gifts, I donated to her favorite charity on her behalf. She asked me to donate to the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. For the past several years she has done the Survivor’s Lap on her friend, Leslie’s, team. Now that she has retired and moved away, she’ll be missing the event.
My donation gave Mom a way to stay connected and support the cause. She is a cancer survivor and a number of our family members and family friends have battled the disease. It’s become so common in our society now that all of us know someone touched by it. Relay for Life gives us a way to collectively fight back – a powerful lesson my mom has taught me repeated throughout my life. There is strength in mothers, strength in being part of a movement.
Yesterday The Nate Berkus Show featured a number of stories about viewer’s moms. While the gifts and surprises that the featured moms received were incredibly generous, the most touching part of the show involved the the children of these moms explaining why their moms were so important to them. It reminded me of how much words can mean when backed by heart and soul.
This Mother’s Day I hope you’ll pick up the phone or take pen to paper and let your Mom know how much her care and support means. Love and gratitude can never be over-communicated.
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
3 thoughts on “Beginning: Honoring My Mom Through The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life”
Thank you, Christa, for this lovely post. I feel honored to have you for my daughter, and remember back to the first time I held you in my arms, and so many other memories in our life together. You make me both proud, and humbled to be so blessed. Love you so much. Mom xxxooo
I ran in that to honor my uncle and my cousin. I hope that you have a nice time. When I ran it started to ran and thunderstorm and I went home a little early. We actually walked to I think most every one or some people rather than ran. The local newspaper reported that one of the noticable things about our relay was all of the luminaries lining the track. I had alteast one out for my uncle who had recently died.
Thank you, Christa, for this lovely post. I feel honored to have you for my daughter, and remember back to the first time I held you in my arms, and so many other memories in our life together. You make me both proud, and humbled to be so blessed. Love you so much. Mom xxxooo
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I ran in that to honor my uncle and my cousin. I hope that you have a nice time. When I ran it started to ran and thunderstorm and I went home a little early. We actually walked to I think most every one or some people rather than ran. The local newspaper reported that one of the noticable things about our relay was all of the luminaries lining the track. I had alteast one out for my uncle who had recently died.
LikeLike