TV Host, Nat Geo Explorer, Speaker
Chris Bashinelli
Speaking Fee: $20,000 to $30,000
Travels From:
Primary Topic Category: Adventure & Exploration
Chris Bashinelli At A Glance:
For more than a decade National Geographic Explorer, Chris Bashinelli, better known as “Bash”, has traveled the world walking in other people’s shoes and trying to better understand the universal human condition. Pulling from more than ten years of Mindfulness practice and first hand cross-cultural experiences in 40 countries – Bash brings to life the powerful tools he’s learned to help organizations reduce employee burnout, build stronger teams and create a “People-First” culture.
Chris Bashinelli, better known as “Bash”, was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York to Lebanese and Italian-American parents. After a decade-long acting career including an appearance on the HBO hit television show, The Sopranos, Bash decided to follow his real passion – using media to build bridges between cultures. He now traverses the globe from Uganda to Haiti as Host of Bridge the Gap, a television series featured on PBS and the National Geographic Channel, where he experience’s life in someone else’s shoes.
A celebrated Diversity and Inclusion speaker, Bash has traveled the world for more than a decade sharing a message of empathy and understanding everywhere from Fortune 500 Companies, to inside prison walls, to the United Nations General Assembly Hall. His world view was shaped on his childhood “Stoop” where his friends shared a combined total of thirteen nationalities. He has shared the stage with Stevie Wonder, the UN Secretary General and his mentor – Dr. Jane Goodall.
After studying Anthropology in East Africa at 20 years old, Chris Bashinelli returned home to discover his father had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. The death of his father sent him on an international quest to better understand the human condition and the universal qualities that lead to a happy, meaningful life. Bash has lived with nomads in Mongolia, worked with suicide prevention activists in Pine Ridge and Sumo wrestled the heaviest Japanese human being in recorded history. Through one of kind stories of adventure and authentic moments of human connection, Bash truly bridges the gap between self and other, helping us recognize our shared humanity.
Bash has spoken around the world – from TEDx, to Abu Dhabi, to Azerbaijan, at multi-million dollar corporations and Ivy League Universities. At 24 years old he became one of the youngest moderators in the history of the United Nations. Bash is a National Geographic Explorer, a UN Moderator, an Eagle Scout and has interviewed some of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People on the Planet.
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Renew Employee Inspiration - Creating a "People-First" Culture
Employee burn out, stress and mental health challenges are at an all time high. “The Big Quit”, staff shortages and uncertainty about our future all fuel our state of anxiety and fear. How do we stay motivated when we don’t know what tomorrow will bring? How can we strengthen employee faith in leadership? How can when we lead our teams to success when we ourselves are overwhelmed? In this international keynote experience, Bash redefines “challenge” as an invitation to become our best selves and to better serve our organization.
Creating a “People-First” culture means everything we do is driven by a desire to better serve our clients and to better serve one another. From this place, every challenge is an opportunity to grow stronger, to learn more about ourselves and to commit to our mission with greater resolve than we ever have before. Empathy is the key to transforming challenge into opportunity, overwhelm into inspiration and fear into courage. Colored by stories of resilience and perseverance everywhere from the hillsides of Western Hunan to the grasslands of Mongolia, Bash reminds us that when we put “People-First” there truly is no challenge to difficult to be transformed. Attendees will be reminded of the power inherent in a team that leads with empathy – for each other, for our clients and for our world. -
Embracing Diversity, Building Stronger Teams - The Power of Human Connection
There are few things more powerful than the strength of human connection. Building Powerful Teams means encouraging each member of our organization to bring their best, most inspired and most authentic selves to work each and every day. Only when each team member feels seen, valued and appreciated for who they are, can we tap into the true strength of our organization. Bash has forged lifelong friendships in a matter of moments with nomads in Mongolia, Lakota activists in Pine Ridge and farmers from remote villages in China – How? By realizing that it is only when we have the courage to be real, to be vulnerable and to have empathy that we create a “safe space” for honest communication.
Bash simplifies “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” to it’s essence – empathy and respect. We must create a work environment that fosters respect for all, inclusive of race, culture, gender identity, sexual orientation and even different points of view. When we do, we empower real innovation to occur – by leveraging the strength of our individual life experiences and our shared core values. We can’t afford not to be inclusive. If we all think and act the same, we will get the same result. In Bash’s one of kind, relatable style, attends will be shown how to break down barriers, build true connection and tap into the power of their teams. -
Reduce Employee Burnout - Mental Health, Productivity, and Creating Healthy Boundaries
“Zoom fatigue”, increased hours and the dissolution between home and work have left so many of us feeling completely burnt out. How can we perform at our best when we are not feeling our best? It’s impossible. Serving our organization and our mission begins with taking care of ourselves, and that begins with how we choose to see the world . When we push ourselves beyond healthy limits, we are of very little use to our organization in the long term, and our well-being suffers greatly. Each mental health challenge we face is an opportunity to create healthier mental habits and boundaries, so that we can reduce burnout and increase productivity.
Pulling from more than a decade of in-depth Mindfulness practice and firsthand experience in productivity as the Creator and Host of Bridge the Gap, Bash offers practical solutions to the mental health challenges of our time – one that doesn’t require us to get on a plane. Attendees will be guided through simple, yet powerful exercises they can bring back to the office today, so that we can reduce burnout and increase inspiration. Creating healthy boundaries allows us to do more, in less time, deepening our focus and expanding our capacity for joy. In this interactive keynote we’ll explore how gratitude practice rewires our brain for happiness, how meditation reduces stress, and how work-life boundaries empower us to be more present at home and more productive in the office. Happiness doesn’t come from success – success comes from happiness – and that begins with a healthy mindset. When we are feeling our best, we have our best selves to give.
