CHRIS BASHINELLI- The United Nations’ Go-To-Kid for all things Youth, Brooklyn, and Cultural Exchange
“Chris’s motivational skills and energy along with the positive message he sends will truly inspire kids to help make this a better planet.”
Michael Douglas - Academy Award-winning Actor & UN Messenger of Peace
Chris Bashinelli (The Sopranos, HBO) was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York to Lebanese and Italian parents. His childhood friends shared a combine total of thirteen nationalities. Chris has devoted his life to understanding the meaning of “cultural exchange”. At 20 years old he moved to Tanzania to experience a new way of life firsthand. He hasn’t looked back since.
As EP and Host of the internationally recognized series, Bridge the Gap, Chris has traversed the globe from Tanzania to Thailand. He’s harvested Buffalo with American Indians in Pine Ridge, walked miles for clean water in Haiti, ran from venomous bees while farming honey in Uganda, and worked side by side with individuals from countless corners of the Earth. He’s worked with UN Ambassadors and has partnered with international NGO’s including the Jane Goodall Institute and Do Something.org. He’s interviewed people like Paleontologist Richard Leakey, NBA Superstar Dikembe Mutombo and Ice Cream legends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield.
Chris travels the world as a Youth Expert for the United Nations, meeting with people and finding out what issues matter to them most. He’s spoken in the UN General Assembly Hall with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, at conferences in Azerbaijan, Brazil and in Qatar. Most recently Chris moderated the United Nations International Day of Peace with Dr. Jane Goodall, Michael Douglas, and Stevie Wonder. As an actor, Chris has appeared on everything from The Sopranos on HBO to An Inconvenient Truth Special with Al Gore on MTV. Chris is an Eagle Scout and holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Marymount Manhattan College where he graduated Cum Laude. He is 25 years old.
Whether he’s eating a still bleeding Buffalo liver in South Dakota, gutting raw fish with migrant workers in Abu Dhabi, or talking relationships with young 20-somethings on a tuk tuk in Thailand- Chris presents us with a new way of looking at our world.
Praise for Chris
“Chris Bashinelli is an inspiration to youth worldwide. He speaks with passion and his message is one of hope, cultural tolerance and call to action. He knows how to reach young and old alike… We need more people like Chris in the world.”
Jane Goodall PhD, DBE
- Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace
“Chris opens people’s eyes up to the different worlds in which we live and makes people think about things we in the developed world take for granted.”
Louise Leakey, PhD
- Paleontologist & National Geographic Explorer in Residence
“Chris is a passionate, personable and resilient young man and I am convinced that he will be relentless in his mission to “Bridge the Gap” to the developing world.”
UN Ambassador Augustine Mahiga, PhD
- Special Representative to the Secretary General for Somalia
Chris’s charm and etiquette will go a long way. He is able to capture audiences when he speaks and when he speaks one gets a sense that it is truly from the heart. His appeal is not limited to any particular age group or class. People are very comfortable around him and seem to respond to him endearingly, no matter what walk of life… Around the world, we truly are all more alike than we know and Chris’s efforts to “Bridge The Gap” should be supported by all. After all, “United we stand, divided we fall…” He is helping to change the world. We should all be contributing whatever resources we can, so that Chris may continue “building bridges”…
Shontelle Layne
- Motown Singer & Songwriter
