Took my first roadtrip in my MINI. Image from Pinterest.
I took my first road trip in my MINI on Friday. About 3 hours into the trip, I got a terrible feeling of dread. I was going to my first literary conference and in the words of the Grinch, it felt like “a wonderful, awful idea”. I heard myself say things like “you should really stick with nonfiction” and “you’re not the least bit literary when it comes to writing” and the infamous “who do you think you are?”. I had to have a Moonstruck moment and will myself to snap out of it. I was driving my MINI Cooper on a sun-filled day as a full-time writer to spend the day surrounded by other inspiring full-time writers. Dread, please move along. Today you don’t get to stay. I know you’ll be back, uninvited, probably in about an hour, but right now you’ve got to leave. “Keep going,” I told myself. “You’re getting there.” And I did.
NaNoWriMo update: 15,000+ words into my novel, Where the Light Enters, and Emerson’s life is being turned upside down, one revelation at a time. Here’s a snippet of Scene 6:
The title page said only, “Properties of Light.” No author. No date. Notes filled the margins of nearly every page in Emerson’s new book. Despite her hopes, Emerson quickly recognized that the handwriting didn’t match her mother’s. Someone else had annotated this volume with their thoughts and ideas. Most of them were questions in small, neat print. “How can we transform light into mass?” “How do we bend light into a right angle?” It was always a matter of how, not if.
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
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