I tell wonder-filled stories about hope and healing
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.
Microsoft’s new data centers in Finland are designed to operate with 100 percent emission-free energy and will supply heat for the cities of Espoo and Kauniainen. Photo by Trellis.
This summer I went to Finland and this lesson has stuck with me: Finnish citizens don’t see themselves as apart from nature but as a part of nature. This is evident in how they eat, how they build their infrastructure, and now also how they heat their homes during their long winters.
We often talk about the enormous energy cost of digitalization—the vast server farms that consume electricity and generate a tremendous amount of waste heat. This is a core challenge of the AI era.
But what if that heat wasn’t a liability? What if it was a valuable, free community resource?
I went to Finland this summerIn Finland, cities like Espoo, Helsinki, and Hamina are pioneering the answer. Tech giants like Microsoft and Google (in partnership with energy companies like Fortum and Helen) are not dumping their server heat into the atmosphere. Instead, they are routing it into large-scale district heating networks to warm nearby homes, schools, and businesses.
Systemic Efficiency: It transforms the cooling process—the servers get chilled and the community gets heat—an elegant system where waste from one process becomes the input for another.
The most important takeaway for sustainability leaders? The challenge isn’t technical; it’s often business and policy-related—finding the right collaboration models and regulatory frameworks to view waste as a resource.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this system:
Could this kind of large-scale circularity be implemented in a complex, dense city like New York? What are the biggest policy or infrastructure barriers we need to overcome first?
To be alive and healthy in a world with golden skies is no small thing. I went for a walk tonight in my beautiful Brooklyn neighborhood to clear my head, open my heart, and lift my spirits.
On that walk, I let myself hope for a brighter, better future. I let myself imagine my city transforming into a place where generosity and justice become an engine for progress.
I want New York City to become healthier, greener, safer, and more equitable for all beings who call this home. A place where dreams come true are not 1 in a million, but within reach for everyone who works hard and lifts others as they rise.
And I believe we can make all of that a reality, together, one day at a time.
Below are more photo from my walk tonight through Prospect Park.
Me outside the Perlmutter Cancer Center in NYC on October 29th after seeing my surgeon on the 5-year anniversary of my discharge from surgery
Last week I celebrated 5 years since the bilateral mastectomy that saved my life and removed any sign of cancer from my body. My friend, Wayne, describes journeys like this as a log flume. When we begin, we’re at the top of a terrifying drop. We’re scared, nervous, unsure, hopeful, confused, anxious. All the emotions of the human condition are raw and tumbled in our minds and hearts. We’re trying to keep our head up and our eyes ahead. we don’t want to take that plunge into the unknown. But we have to. We can’t turn around. The only way out is through.
And so, we take a deep breath, and we let ourselves fall. We face all the things we were afraid of, and then some. In every health challenge journey, circumstances arise that we never expected. In my case, I had to have another surgery 3 weeks later because lymph nodes that biopsied negative came back positive in the pathology. All the nodes from that second surgery were, thankfully, negative. Then I nearly died, twice, from a life-threatening allergy to Taxol, a common chemo drug, that shut down my lungs in the middle of COVID. My oncologist at the time thought I was being overly dramatic about my side effects when in fact I was suffocating. (I fired her from my care team, and she no longer sees patients.) My pulmonology team thought my lungs might be permanently scarred and I may need to have an oxygen tank for the rest of my life. Thanks to science and diligence, I fully recovered and now I’m healthier and stronger than ever.
I spent the evening of my 5-year surgery anniversary producing and hosting NYC’s Secrets & Lies – Ghost Stories. The irony isn’t lost on me—that I nearly became a ghost myself with so much life I still wanted to live and that storytelling and creativity have been two of my greatest teachers and healers.
In the wee hours of the morning after my surgery, I woke up in recovery. High as a kite on a massive amount of drugs, my nurse ran around the hospital to find me a turkey sandwich and to this day it’s the best thing I’ve ever eaten. I happily gobbled it down, watched a Harry Potter film on my tablet, and cried enormous tears of gratitude. There was less of my body in the world, but I was still alive, still breathing, and cancer-free. My greatest wish that morning was to see the sunrise so my nurse got me out of bed and wheeled me to one of the lounge spaces in the recovery wing so I could see the sun come up over the East River and the FDR Drive. I will never forget that view.
My surgery team members came to see me before I was discharged. My plastic surgeon who had placed the first installment of my reconstruction – the tissue expanders that would go on to cause 14 months of constant pain – told me that I woke up from anesthesia very quickly, before I’d even left the operating room. I began gushing how grateful and thankful I was to the whole surgery team. She said the entire team was laughing and crying right along with me. I have zero memory of this, and I wish I’d been fully conscious to remember it. Leave it to me to bring the funny in the darkest of times!
Then my breast surgeon came to check me before discharge. Through our masks, I thanked her for saving me and she said, “Sweetie, I’m just part of the team. And every person in this hospital shows up every day with the only goal being to help you heal. And you will heal. And how you feel now – the pain and the fear – it won’t always feel this way. We’re going to get through this together.” My dear friend, Marita, picked me up from the hospital and drove me home to where my sister and my dog were waiting for me. In the following months, so many beautiful friends sent me care packages, messages, cards, and food, and came to visit me from a distance – outside and masked. The trying times we made it through! I’m so thankful for everyone who cheered me on and helped me in a million different ways. I wouldn’t be here without you.
It’s fitting that exactly 5 years at that exact time she came to see me in recovery that I had my 5-year check-up with my breast surgeon. She gave me a clean bill of health, and we talked about the next 5 years of meds. She eased my mind and soothed my heart, as she always does, with science and compassion. We have a plan to keep me cancer-free, and I feel ready to start this next chapter.
I left her office with tears in my eyes and my head, heart, and spirit filled with gratitude for every second of these past 5 years. I’m even grateful for the worst days on this journey because I got to live them. Every morning, my first thought is, “Whew, I got another one!” Long may that tradition continue.
Below are photos of me on the day of my surgery and the morning after when I woke up and saw the sunrise
It’s official! The tickets for my December NYC’s Secrets & Lies storytelling show at the South Street Seaport Museum are now on sale and they’re only $10
I am so excited for this one—it’s going to be a gorgeous night of holiday secret stories, exclusive access to the museum’s exhibit on NYC maritime history, free wine, and free holiday treats with a cast that includes Carla Katz, Erin Hunkemoeller, and Ashley Semrick. 🍷
The search for my Heart Dog is officially on! This week, I filled out adoption registration forms with several amazing local rescue groups. NYC has so many wonderful rescue organizations! I know one of them is going to have the perfect pup for me to adopt.
Muddy Paws Rescue NYC is of course high on the list because I’ve fostered 10 dogs with them over the last year. Every Last One Rescue, Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC), and North Shore Animal League America are a few of the others I’m monitoring every day for new additions!
This week I also spent time getting clear on the criteria for my Heart Dog. I’m looking for a doggo who is friendly with people and dogs, enjoys long walks, and loves going on adventures around the city. I’d love to adopt a pup who is a New Yorker already.
I’m very interested in having a dog who would be suitable for therapy dog training—a confident and joyful spirit who’s ready to give and receive love.
Phineas, my Soul Dog, was a dachshund so I’m partial to that breed though that’s not a requirement. Ideally, a dog that fits comfortably in a carrier for easy city travel would be great, but I’m ready to fall in love with a larger dog, too. I hope Phinny will guide me to the dog who’s meant for me.
Send me all your good adoption vibes. I’m ready for the search and I’m excited to share the journey with you!
Today, October 27th, is a special day—it’s the day to honor the spirits of deceased pets as part of the Día de los Muertos tradition. And of course I’m thinking of Phineas, my soul dog, the dog who made me who I am. My constant companion. My forever teacher.
Phinny and I had thirteen and a half beautiful years together and he was there for me through some of the most trying times of my life. He taught me about unconditional love, patience, loyalty, and how to embrace joy, even in the midst of sorrow. His spirit has never left me, not for a second. And he never will. I keep a year-round ofrenda for him in our home where I say good morning and good night to him every day. Today it feels especially important to remember his life and the incredible bond we share that we will have always.
If you’re going through the pain of loss, please know that our beloveds never leave us. Happy Día de los Muertos, Phinny. I’m happy you’re still with me, still guiding me, still loving me, still teaching me. I am the luckiest to be your mama. ❤️
Every day, the global citrus industry produces mountains of waste: billions of tons of leftover peels and pulp from juice extraction. Most of my immediate family lives in Florida now, and I’ve seen his waste first-hand. In nature, waste doesn’t exist; everything is a resource. So, what if we applied that wisdom—the principle of biomimicry—to the industrial challenge of food waste?
Enter Orange Fiber, an Italian company (from Sicily – where my ancestors are from!) that has cracked the code on circular fashion.
The Problem of Waste, Solved by Nature
Orange Fiber developed an innovative, patented process to extract the cellulose fiber that still exists within citrus juice by-products. They take the material left over from juicing and, through bio-based chemistry, transform it into a refined, high-quality fabric. The result is a refined, ethereal, and sensorial fabric that feels like a beautiful silk.
This is biomimicry in action: Nature’s design principle is to create closed-loop systems, and Orange Fiber has designed a zero-waste textile solution right inside a juice factory.
Why This is More Than Just a Fabric
This is a story of value creation and a new definition of luxury in the modern world.
Sustainable Innovation: It dramatically reduces agricultural waste and reliance on non-renewable resources (like petroleum-based synthetic fabrics).
Professional Validation: Since its launch, Orange Fiber has quickly scaled, partnering with brands like Salvatore Ferragamo, H&M Conscious Exclusive, and E. Marinella. If they trust the quality, the model is scalable.
The Secret is Simple: The success of Orange Fiber is a perfect example of a deep, simple secret often overlooked in product design: the solution is often hiding in plain sight, waiting to be repurposed.
The work of Orange Fiber reminds us that every challenge we face—from environmental pollution to resource depletion—can be solved by looking to the design wisdom of the natural world. It proves that the most beautiful, sustainable solutions are often discovered when we choose curiosity and embrace the design mindset of, “How can we make something beautiful while also protecting the natural world we all depend upon for survival?”
This week was filled with more than its fair share of disappointments: a few people I trusted let me down; the heavy emotional challenge of having a foster pup who not only isn’t happy to see me when I get home but who actively runs away from me because of the tough life he’s had is a painful circumstance for both of us; opportunities that I hoped would work out and didn’t despite my best efforts.
Of course there were bright spots this week, too: NYC’s Secrets & Lies, my storytelling show on the 28th, sold out and I’ve hit upon a great ghost story to tell; I had a great conversation about the show with a podcast host I admire; I was finally able to get supportive meds for my foster pup so both of us could get a full night’s sleep; I read, researched, and wrote about topics that matter to me.
Also, this month is my 5-year cancer-free anniversary so really that far outweighs any disappointment life will ever throw at me. I looked death in the eye and didn’t flinch, multiple times. A few disappointments? I’ll take ’em!
After a long work meeting this afternoon for a new project I’m about to begin, I walked home through Green-Wood Cemetery. The sun on my face and the scent of autumn leaves felt like a gift. It occurred to me that the challenges I’ve had this week are pointing me in the direction I’m meant to go. The universe is closing some doors so that the path for me to take going forward is clear.
Over the past year I’ve felt a bit stuck and unsure of which way to go, and so I’ve waited – hoping some insights would emerge. While I prefer insights with positive outcomes, learning where not to spend my time and effort is also valuable. It just doesn’t feel as good when the revelation arrives. I put a lot of effort into making plans and when those plans don’t work, it can feel discouraging.
Looking back on my life, the best things that happened to me aren’t things I planned. They were opportunities that found me and that I grabbed with both hands because they were even better than what I had planned. Maybe this week has again taught me to be open to possibility, to change, to growth. Maybe there’s some even more wonderful than I could ever imagine just up ahead, around the bend, and what I need to do to find it is to keep going.
In the meantime, I made myself a sunny bake – something I often do when I don’t know what to do. This week my lovely friend, Stephanie, posted a recipe for zucchini lemon cake and I gave it a whirl. Fuel for the sweet journey ahead.
I’m so excited to share this update: NYC’s Secrets & Lies, my storytelling show about secret NYC history, is officially looking for new storytellers for our 2026 season!
This show is a dream come true for me and incorporates everything I love – NYC, history, research, game shows, storytelling, and collaboration. We’re thrilled to be back on stage and growing.
Read the full Playbill listing, including the link to submit at http://bit.ly/46UcuAz.
Please feel free to share this with anyone whom you think would be interested.
Here is the full text of the listing:
NYC’s SECRETS & LIES: Storytellers Wanted
PRODUCTION DESCRIPTION: NYC’s Secrets & Lies is a critically acclaimed, dynamic live storytelling show that blends deep historical research with high-energy theatrical performance. We bring little-known NYC stories to life, pairing each storyteller’s script with synchronized, original visual presentations (slides/images). Each performer acts as a historian, researcher, and entertainer.
SEEKING DIVERSE STORYTELLERS (18+)
We seek diverse, charismatic performers who are passionate about historical research and engaging presentation.
Storytellers: Individuals comfortable conducting independent historical research, writing a compelling script (typically 8–12 minutes in length), and delivering it with theatrical flair.
Key Skills:
Ability to translate complex historical facts into an accessible, entertaining narrative.
Familiarity with creating simple visual aids (slides/Keynote) is helpful, but not required.
Experience: Prior experience in educational performing, tour guiding, or narrative podcasting is a plus, but not a requirement. The only true requirement is a passion for NYC history and a desire to share it with an audience in a fun way.
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS: VIDEO FIRST OPEN CALL
We are accepting self-tape video submissions for the first round. (A phone video is perfectly fine; please minimize the file size.)
Required Materials:
Headshot and Resume/CV: Highlight any experience in research, writing, public speaking, performance, or tour guiding.
Short Video (Self-Tape): A 2-minute excerpt of a historical story or topic you are passionate about. Focus on captivating delivery and clarity—imagine you are telling a fantastic secret tidbit to a good friend.No visuals needed.
Cover Letter: Please include the following:
Relevant experience (research, performance, etc.)
Your interest in the show and NYC history.
If you’ve seen NYC’s Secrets & Lies (or plan to attend in October or December.)
Social media handles (if applicable.)
Please submit all materials via email at nycsecretsandlies@gmail.com. Email us if you have any questions.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: LEARN ABOUT OUR SHOW
To understand the unique blend of entertainment, historical research, and performance, we highly encourage you to attend one of our upcoming live shows:
October Show: “Ghost Stories”
Date: Tuesday, October 28th, 2025
Location: The Hidden Jewel Box Theater – a secret theater hidden inside Port Authority Bus Terminal!
Five years ago today, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and I didn’t know what my future held. My friend, Meg, sat in my surgeon’s office with me and held my hand. A plan came together with my surgeon to not only help me survive, but thrive. I didn’t know what that looked like then, but I know now.
Today, I stand here, stronger and more committed than ever to sharing the stories that matter—the secrets we keep because sometimes they are too frightening to say out loud and the lies we tell ourselves to fake it until we make it so we can survive.
I’m channeling that strength into a story I’ll tell on stage, and I hope you’ll join me for the next chapter on October 28th for NYC’s Secrets & Lies – Ghost Stories!
That October 28th show date is also a very momentous personal anniversary for me: that will mark five years since my bilateral mastectomy—the day I faced my worst fear head-on and the last day there was any sign of cancer in my body. We’re going to celebrate!
This week, I filled out adoption registration forms with several amazing local rescue groups. NYC has so many wonderful rescue organizations! I know one of them is going to have the perfect pup for me to adopt.
Christa Avampato 