Christina is an accomplished creative and business leader with a successful track record of building and managing world-class media brands. Her career has been driven by the power of creativity and connection, and she is distinguished by her ability to lead with passion, foster collaborative partnerships, and deliver strong business results. The Moth hosts over 600 storytelling events across the country, produces a popular podcast and radio show heard on National Public Radio, and works globally in collaboration with The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Ford Foundation, and other partners.
Previously, Christina served as Head of Content for THINK450, the Innovation Engine of the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), creating opportunities for the world’s most influential athletes to deepen their connections with audiences through storytelling. She Created and Produced the documentary, Game Change Game, which chronicled the NBA players’ fight for justice in the face of the pandemic and a social uprising. The film was an official selection of the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.
Christina has held senior leadership positions across the industry, including CEO of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, President of MTV, and President of VH1. In those roles, she was recognized for creative strategies that expanded brand identity, grew audiences, and attracted top-tier advertisers. Her work has earned her numerous industry honors including Multichannel News' "Wonder Women," Cable Fax's Most Powerful Women and Influential Minorities lists, The Hollywood Reporter "Power100 Women in Entertainment,” and the Governor’s Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for MTV's "Fight For Rights” campaign. Christina is on the Board of BRIC Arts Media Brooklyn.
Storytelling has always guided my work — from creating content that transports audiences to new worlds to now cultivating spaces of deep connection and community through The Moth where I’m excited about the ability to add community and connection into the mix. The Moth hosts over 600 live events a year, building a community of storytellers and listeners in cities all over the world. We also hold storytelling workshops for students, community groups, and corporate partners.
When you share your story, you begin to see yourself — and your future — differently. You're no longer defined by one moment or identity, but by the fullness of your lived experience.
The Moth is 30 years strong, and we’re just getting started. I’m looking for new ways to expand our community and bring more people together to experience the power of storytelling.
Stories are the ways we make sense of ourselves and learn about others. At its heart, storytelling is all about building connections through sharing and listening. When we share our experiences, we make ourselves vulnerable — and when we listen, we create space for empathy and understanding. That kind of connection is essential, especially now.
Creators are diving deep into specific communities, cultures, and experiences, especially those underrepresented in mainstream media. This is driving demand for authentic, culturally specific voices and sparking initiatives like grant-funded series, community-driven storytelling platforms, and inclusive brand partnerships. Audio plays a powerful role in this movement — and The Moth is uniquely positioned to lead, amplify, and nurture these voices on a global scale.
Kindness and Honesty. I’ve had so many people offer their expertise and their time to me over the years, and I try to make myself available to people on their own journeys.
Not a fair question! There are so many women both in my life and in the world. In my personal life, I always talk about my aunt, Lillian Diaz. She was the first woman in my family to have a “corporate job,” she wore jeans with a fur coat, and she told me there was no place I didn’t belong.
Creatively, I’ve always turned to Toni Morrison. She wrote about Black women that let me know our lives were beautiful, even when they were hard.
My family! My husband and daughters are my support system, my sounding board, my reality check, my “do these shoes go with this?” team. Every big decision, every success, and every setback, they’ve been there to cheer me on or dust me off.
AI is reshaping every aspect of our world, and I’m excited and, quite frankly, apprehensive about how this tool will impact society. It’s so important that people of color are not sidelined in this march towards the future and that the development and deployment of AI tools happen with us and not to us. I’m also interested in how storytelling can serve as a grounding force — especially in increasingly automated spaces.
I have to head back to Toni Morrison and Song of Solomon. I first read it when I was 15 years old and go back to reread it nearly every year. Themes I barely understood as a teenager have shaped so much of my life – how our stories are intertwined, how our identity is formed, and the overwhelming power of family and legacy to shape our lives. I’ve long been glad Song of Solomon lived only on the page — in the images I built in my mind. But after seeing how beautifully 100 Years of Solitude was adapted, maybe… I can dare to dream.
