“For what you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing: it also depends on what sort of person you are.” ~ C.S. Lewis
In this economy, it’s easy to look around and see miles and miles of space lacking in opportunity. But what’s really happened is that the opportunity of today has a different face than the opportunity before this latest recession touched down. We cannot look for it with the same methods, in the same places, and with the same lens.
The opportunity before was often found in big companies, in big cities, and by following the rules outlined for us. Get a pedigree education, go into a corporate training program as a well-respected company, and climb, climb, climb. Now, the greatest opportunities are discovered within our frustrations, solved by our imaginations, and brought to life with our own two hands.
I flip through the New York Times every day – online version during the week, paper version on the weekend – and mark, snip, and save everything that has some kind of future relevance for Compass Yoga. I do the same with a ludicrous number of magazine, websites, newsletters, and any number of social media channels. Leads on sources for potential funding, programming, partnerships, and smarter ways of working are piling up. And the more I find, the more there are.
Creativity is addictive, endless, and constant, if only we begin to trot down the path to solve something that bothers us with a solution that benefits the greater good.
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
“For what you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing: it also depends on what sort of person you are.” ~ C.S. Lewis
Christa,
People have already started to move away from the big, bad cities to rural areas. They are in search of “quality of life.” They want peace of mind and they want to be happy. This trend has been well-documented by John Naisbitt and Patricia Aburdene and other noted writers and intellectuals. Technology has made it possible to live in remote places and still get your work done. In the country, you can rise and shine to the chirping of the birds. There is nothing like fresh air and sunshine, which you don’t always find in large, congested, urban areas. Cheers. And thanks for writing a wonderful post, as usual. Have a good one.
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Hi Archan – I don’t know these two authors. I’ll put them on my reading list. Thanks, as always, for the leads!
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