Yesterday I spoke about my tough session with Brian this week. I had a tough week and somehow, despite my usually feisty demeanor, I let it get to me. It wore me out. I want to be working full-time on projects I am passionate about, that are of consequence, not just to me, but to the world. Not I straddle those two worlds, one foot in a place that pays my bills but gives me little in the way of meaning, and the other in my creative life, which provides my soul with so much nourishment and yet does little for my bank account. The straddle is more difficult than I like to admit.
And so the argument raged on in my mind last week – my need to be practical and grounded, and my need to care about the work in front of me. At the moment, those two things are not compatible in my life. It’s causing me to feel stagnant and exhausted for no good reason. And it perplexes me.
Brian listened to me, but rather than expressing his empathy, he recognized that I needed a dose of very tough love. “Christa, you are going to have to employ your creativity. Give yourself some boundaries, some guidelines, and tell your creativity that failure is just not an option. You have to find a way to care again, not about your present situation, but about the gifts you have to offer. If you don’t employ those with everything you’ve got, then you are losing and so is everyone else. You cannot hide from who you are.”
While I apply my creativity to my teaching and to my writing, I don’t employ it effectively in the design of my life. I’ve cooked up this hodgepodge of how I spend my time, each activity fulfilling some of my needs, but no activity filling all of them. There must be a better way, a way to feed my stomach and soul simultaneously, and no one else is going to build that opportunity for me. It is one thing I must wrestle through on my own and a non-answer, a holding pattern is no longer an option. A change is imminent, and I am the one who is going to have to usher it into being through my own creativity.
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
Yesterday I spoke about my tough session with Brian this week. I had a tough week and somehow, despite my usually feisty demeanor, I let it get to me. It wore me out. I want to be working full-time on projects I am passionate about, that are of consequence, not just to me, but to the world. Not I straddle those two worlds, one foot in a place that pays my bills but gives me little in the way of meaning, and the other in my creative life, which provides my soul with so much nourishment and yet does little for my bank account. The straddle is more difficult than I like to admit.
And you will get there. I have complete confidence in you.
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