Author: Christa Avampato

The short of it: Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day. The long of it: My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events. While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series. A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist. My company: I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media: • I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference; • I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable; • I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me. Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
creativity

Wonder: Grace Potter and the Magical Midnight Roadshow

Christa Avampato
Screen Shot 2016-01-22 at 12.03.34 AM
My photo of Grace Potter at 9:30 Club – an artist at work

I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Grace Potter and the Magical Midnight Roadshow last night at 9:30 Club. It’s such a joy to be in the presence of someone who is so comfortable being exactly who they are. She is a ball of wild and wonderful energy, and she took every person in that sold out audience with her. I couldn’t help but dance from beginning to end. There’s something about her voice and her music that just moves you, leads you into new places you never knew you could go. I’m so glad I took the ride all the way to the end. (Huge thanks to my pal, Josh, for introducing me to her live shows!)

creativity

Wonder: Decide that now is your time

Christa Avampato

b40cc749bf88672c15e6a7b015b8f510I saw a friend earlier this week who had a tough 2015. I can empathize. I did, too. But here’s what I’ve decided: this year, 2016, is my year. I’ve got some work to do to make that happen, but I’m going to do it. I’m going to make it happen. If 2015 was tough for you, too, I’ll make you a deal. Let’s dust ourselves off and get started on making 2016 amazing. This is our year. Deal? Deal.

creativity

Wonder: Fall in love with your path

Christa Avampato
Screen Shot 2016-01-19 at 11.04.15 PM
Clifton Ross III

“You’ve got to fall in love with your path.” ~Clifton Ross III

On Monday, I went to Eatonville’s celebration of Martin Luther King Day with special guests Clifton Ross III and the Howard University Gospel Choir. Clifton spoke about his challenges getting through college at Howard University and his winding career in music. “You’ve got to fall in love with your path,” he said. I couldn’t agree more. There’s a temptation for us to compare our journeys to the journeys of others. You are unique and so is your path.Revel in that. March to the beat of your own drummer. Enjoy the view. Do things your way on your terms, and love every moment of it. That’s the only work we ever really have to do.

creativity

Wonder: We can find unity through music

Christa Avampato

Here’s a beautiful display of the power of music to unite us: the black acapella group Naturally 7​ & Jewish acapella group The Maccabees​ collaborated on a rendition of the James Taylor​ song, Shed a Little Light, commemorating Dr. King at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. This kind of work gives me hope that with all the problems we face in the world, we can stand side-by-side, raise our voices, and make a difference together.

creativity

Wonder: Embrace your inner weirdo

Christa Avampato

I saw this cartoon yesterday and it made me smile for so many reasons. We spend so much time trying to fit in and belong. I wonder what would happen if instead we embraced what makes us weird and different, what makes us stand out. And what if we encouraged and celebrated what makes others weird and different? Maybe then we could really see that what makes us different doesn’t divide us, but rather unites us. Let’s be weird. Let’s be awesome.

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creativity

Wonder: A message from street art

Christa Avampato

I love when I find just the message I need exactly when I need it, especially when that image is packaged in art. Thanks, Universe. Stay humble.

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creativity

Wonder: Behind-the-scenes at DC’s Union Market

Christa Avampato

On Friday night, I joined a meetup group to get a behind-the-scenes tour and tasting at Union Market. That area of northeast DC had been a bustling area of the city for a century before it fell into decay in the 1960s. About 10 years ago, just as I was leaving the city to go to grad school at UVA, this area started to be revitalized and Union Market is now a magnet for residents, visitors, and businesses alike.

The premise of Union Market is a food incubator, allowing enterprising people to launch a food-based business for a fraction of the price it usually costs to enter the market. These startups are varied and thriving—from brothers who own a knife sharpening business to bakeries to a 1950s-style soda shop to spice vendors to seafood to BBQ—Union Market is showcasing the very best of DC’s future food scene.

The aromas and visuals were stunning, though what really got me was the energy, the spirit of the place. Customers were smiling, laughing, and chatting. Business owners were happily cooking and serving up love on many plates and in many glasses. Union Market is a place rich in possibility, and that is a wonderful thing.

creativity

Wonder: Rhiannon Giddens’s unique sound is now finding the audience

Christa Avampato
Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, Bhi Bhiman
Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, Bhi Bhiman

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to seek out new music and see more live shows. I learned about Rhiannon Giddens on CBS Saturday Morning Saturday Sessions. I was making breakfast and when she started to sing, I popped my head around the corner from the kitchen to see who she was. Her sound was so unique—both her voice and her band’s orchestrations. She’s managed to take her multiethnic heritage and meld all of the parts of her ancestry and experiences into something wholly new and very powerful. There is something about her earthy voice and music that stirs something in everyone who hears it.

Giddens and special guests will be at Lisner Auditorium in Washington, D.C. on February 26th at 8pm. The concert is described as:

“Led by Rhiannon Giddens, founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, this concert will explore the songs of resistance of the South, both old and new, the deep history of protest songs from Leyla McCalla’s Haiti and Louisiana, and the modern outsider-looking-in observations of 1st generation American Bhi Bhiman.”

I snapped up a ticket immediately. I hope you will, too.

creativity

Wonder: Take your time – a lesson from Hamilton, Adele 25, and Serial

Christa Avampato
Adele
Adele

When you’ve done something incredible, there’s an urge to attempt a second lightning strike as fast as possible. Lin-Manuel Miranda and Adele did it right. They took a significant amount of time between their first monumental successes and their second attempts. They wanted to roll the dice again, and they wanted to be the most skilled dice rollers they could be. That couldn’t happen over night. It couldn’t even happen in a year. Lin worked on Hamilton for five years. Adele took 4 years between her albums 21 and 25. They were patient, persistent, and thoughtful about it.

Serial, sadly, wasn’t. The second season isn’t anywhere near as interesting, suspenseful, nor intriguing as Season 1. I’ve already stopped listening because it’s not worth my time. They should have spent more time selecting, researching, molding, and shaping season 2. They should have been more concerned with content and less concerned about turnaround. We would have waited. We would have been here.

If you’re working on your second act, take the time to get it right. Don’t rush for the sake of rushing. Move along as fast as you can, and don’t compromise quality. In a world of so much noise, quality is worth the wait.

creativity

Wonder: A kind soul in Petworth returned my stolen package

Christa Avampato

I bought a new batch of toys for my pup, Phineas, and his friend, Otis, and someone stole the boxes right off our porch. On Sunday, a good Samaritan found the open box with the partial order in an alley and returned it to me with this note. Because they didn’t sign it, I’m hoping that by posting this I’ll be able to find them and give them a proper thank you. Things that are lost can be found, with the little help from the community around us.

Thank you, neighbor!
Thank you, neighbor!