The firehouse in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn. Photo by Christa Avampato.
Today’s the toughest day of the year for New Yorkers. We read names, tell stories, remember faces, and pay tribute to bravery and courage. We all remember where we were, what we were doing, and who we were with on that most terrible of mornings, mourning.
I was in Chicago crossing the river to the theater for work to open The Full Monty Broadway tour, coffee and muffin in-hand. A huge crowd gathered around an electronics store window full of TVs. I thought they were watching a movie preview. It took me a moment to realize it was live news footage and my city was under attack.
22 years on, half a lifetime ago for me, and we live by the code #neverforget but we’ve added #carryon to it because that’s what 1,649 New Yorkers wish they could’ve done on that ordinary, shining Tuesday. To-date we’ve lost double that number from diseases caused by 9/11.
A month after the attack, I ran the Chicago marathon and it remains the most life-affirming event I’ve ever been part of. I’ll never forget the kindness, love, and support that poured from those streets onto the 30,000 runners, myself and my dear friend, Mark, included. Chicago and Chicagoans took up permanent residence in my heart that day.
A month after the marathon I lost my job because many Broadway shows and tours closed, unable to generate enough revenue to continue. With no job and no place to live, I boarded an empty plane and went to Europe for the first time at the suggestion of my dear friend, Amy, who made it clear that there was nothing better I could do. She was right. That trip changed my life. Everywhere I went once people realized I was a New Yorker, I was gobsmacked with their kindness and compassion. They patched the wound those fallen towers left in me.
So this morning, as I’ve done for 22 years, I went for a run. I went by my local firehouse in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn with this mural memorial to the neighborhood FDNY firefighters we lost. I reveled in beauty by hanging up art in my apartment. I sat down at my laptop and wrote. I planted seeds that will eventually grow into plants and flowers. I carried on for those we’ve lost and the many who grieve. I cried. I remembered.
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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