Last week, I went to an event about mixed-, virtual-, and augmented-reality at DC’s Newseum. My dear friend, F.J., told me about it and being the technology fiends that we are, we went over there together with our friend, Anisha. We tried on some new gear to get a sense of what’s happening in this new and rapidly emerging field. I drove down the streets of Cuba, Anisha took a flight with the Blue Angels, and F.J. explored a shipwreck. The degrees of quality varied, but the fun of seeing the future was equally palpable in all of it. We then sat together to hear a talented panel of journalists and media makers talk about how these technologies are altering the very real world of human experience in a broad sense, and the field of journalism and storytelling more specifically.
An intense amount of capital is pouring into MR, AR, and VR. Competitors in hardware and software are firing on all cylinders. Storytellers are undergoing a massive mind shift and stretching their imaginations to the nth degree. The future of this technology isn’t even clear enough to be called hazy. We are all, admittedly, fumbling in the dark trying figure out how, if, when, where, and why to take this new avenue.
I’m thinking about how to use it for
Project Rubeus. Prestigious outlets such as The New York Times and the Washington Post are experimenting with mobile, immersive stories. The fields of healthcare, education, media, nonprofit, and travel are bending this new channel to their will to literally take students, customers, and consumers to places they never even imagined they could go.
I am intensely excited about this possibility and opportunity, as a business woman, technology lover, and writer with a passion for learning, teaching, and sharing. At the Newseum that night, a portal to a new, strange, and wild world opened and I happily walked through, virtually and literally.
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/
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