We have a lot to learn from history. If we take a trip down Wall Street’s memory lane, we’ll discover that it was founded on the principle of creative destruction, the creation of new industries and companies that build better products and services than those we currently have. Instead, as Tom Friedman so eloquently stated in his column this week, they’ve fallen into the horrible habit of “financing too much “destructive creation” (inventing leveraged financial products with no more societal value than betting on whether Lindy’s sold more cheesecake than strudel).” This is a problem but is not yet one that is too far gone. I believe Wall Street, and by extension our economy and our society, can be saved.
Wall Street can create jobs outside its walls
Most job creation comes from start-ups – companies founded by passionate, insightful people seeing a pain they want to fix and then inventing a product or service to alleviate that pain. Maybe that’s the need for a better vacuum cleaner – thank you, Mr. Dyson – or maybe it’s the need to help creative get their projects funded by small contributions from a large group of strangers – thank you, Kickstarter.
Why can’t financial firms take a small portion of their earnings and provide more loans to start-ups at very low-interest rates? There’s plenty of waste going on in financial firms on projects that never take off beyond the ideation phase, money that would do just as much good being burned in the middle of the street. Instead, take that money and take a chance on a set of entrepreneurs who are trying to build something of value rather than rearrange value by moving money around in a big circle.
Consider it corporate philanthropy or just the right thing to do. Wall Street should figure out how to reinvent itself as a jobs creator, and that doesn’t mean hiring more bankers. It means funding people with good ideas that the world needs. About a year ago I wrote a letter to the CEO of the company I worked for and proposed this type of idea. He never responded; he may never have received the letter. But I’m going to give it a go again and point to a recent peer of his, Howard Schultz of Starbucks, who is doing something on par with this idea.
We’re all in this together
The Occupy Wall Street protectors and the banks have conspired together in a war of “us” (the people) against “them” (the banks). It doesn’t need to be that way. And actually it can’t be that way if we want our economic situation to improve. Like it or not, money and creative ideas, together, make the world go round. We’re in this life together, in this world together. And no one person has more of a right to a good life than any other. We are equals, and we need to start treating each other and supporting each other as such.
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/
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1 thought on “Beginning: Where Wall Street and the Occupy Wall Street Protestors Needs to Go From Here”
1 thought on “Beginning: Where Wall Street and the Occupy Wall Street Protestors Needs to Go From Here”