Chris Schembra

About Chris Schembra

I host dinners. Free. Always. No exceptions. It started on July 15, 2015, with 15 strangers, a pot of pasta sauce, and one question:\"If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you\'ve never thanked, who would that be?\" 820+ dinners later, I\'ve learned something the efficiency economy won\'t teach you: the opposite of loneliness isn\'t addiction, it\'s connection. And connection can\'t be optimized. It has to be earned. Earned Connection -) I\'m a speaker, author (Wall Street Journal bestseller Gratitude Through Hard Times), facilitator, and founder of 7:47, a gratitude-based leadership development company working with 400 major organizations including Google, Microsoft, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Dell, and branches of the U.S. military. We\'ve facilitated hundreds of transformational experiences across six continents. I\'ve set tables in Times Square, under the Tower Bridge in London, in boardrooms worldwide. I led marketing on \"Just a Common Soldier\"(20M+ views, 2 Emmy Awards, more shares than \"likes\"). I launched Gratitude in the City™, transforming NYC screens 2x years in a row into calls for connection for millions. But the real work happens at the dinner table. Not in keynotes. Not in frameworks. In small rooms where people stop performing and start being known. I believe- Friction builds connection. Frictionless feels like management- The question matters more than the answer- You can\'t scale authenticity, but you can repeat it- In a world full of influencers, the dinner host is the new aspirational identity- When AI can do everything faster, the differentiator is being present. I\'ve led marketing on Emmy Award–winning content, led Broadway productions, and helped build schools in Uganda. But I measure my life in dinners hosted and people held, in moments where someone stopped trying to impress and started being real. My mission: unlock human potential one question, one story, one connection at a time. Somewhere in your life is someone you\'ve never properly thanked. Let\'s fix that. Known, held, whole. That\'s the thesis.

Experience

1. Official Member

   Fast Company Executive Board

   Apr 2021 — Present

Education

• Rollins College

  International Business

  2006 — 2008

• National Outdoor Leadership School

  Expedition Leadership in Patagonia

  2009 — 2009

• Hilton Head Preparatory School

  High School

  1994 — 2006

Skills

• Web Design
• Event Management
• Mac
• Facebook
• Motivational Interviewing
• Editing
• People-Oriented
• People Skills
• Television
• Producing
• Voice Over
• Empower
• Public Relations
• Leadership
• Theatre
• Final Cut Pro
• Publishing
• Event Planning
• Inspirer
• Photoshop
• Entertainment
• Photography
• Film Production
• Social Media
• Press Releases
• Digital Media
• Public Speaking
• Corporate Meetings
• Social Networking
• Video
• Graphic Design
• Engaging People
• Convention Services
• Management
• Entrepreneurship
• Social Media Marketing
• Performance Motivation
• Blogging
• Video Editing
• Marketing