About Charlie

Hi There!

I am Charlie Grosso, a writer, photographer, adventurer, all the while running a non-profit (or as I like to say, FOR IMPACT) organization in the area of refugee education.

I have the mind of a serial entrepreneur with a pirate soul and a poet’s heart. Creative solution-oriented. Purpose-driven and always asking, “What if…”

Currently calling NYC home. Fueled by coffee and boba tea!

You should subscribe to my newsletter, Hi Love,”
It’s not another newsletter. It’s a love letter.

I’m inconsistent on social media but I always read my email. charlie@charliegrosso.com

Particulars

Publications

Travel, food, and culture were my beat and my writing has appeared in Maker, Creem, The Express Tribune, Yahoo Travel, OTPYM, and more. Publishing at Hi.Co (founded by Craig Mod) was one of my favorite "outlets" until it was no more. 

Yes. Like all writers, I have a completed manuscript (memoir) tucked away in a drawer. 

Currently, I'm playing with several different book ideas and writing love letters at Hi Love,.

Newsletters

I have two newsletters with about 2000 subscribers (Jan 2021): 

Hi Love, (bi-monthly) -- an experiment to see if a platonic love letter is possible. 

Hello Future. (monthly) -- education, refugee education, and what it is like to design programs for teens. 

Projects

Wok the Dog, a long term photo-documentary project about food markets across the world (42 countries, 120 cities) is still one of my favorite projects. Hello Future is a close second. They both are a labor of love and it's hard to compare. One of them is about a particular space through my lens while the other is trying to create a new model for education and self-reliance for refugee teens. 

Honors & Fellowships

• Bohm Media Fellow

• Kravis Leadership Moonshot Fellow

• Edmund Hillary Fellow

• Acumen Fellow

• Luminary x UBS Fellow

• RealRelief for Visionary Women Grant

• PENN State, Festival of the Arts, Award of Merit

• Vermont Studio Center, Artist Residency Grant

• Prix de La Photographie, Paris (Px3): Winner of Public Choice Award for Documentary Photography (2008)

• Pilsner Urquell International Photography Awards 2008: Honorable Mention in the Professional Category

• Hasselblad Masters Awards: Selected Semi-Finalists (2008)

• En Foco New Works #11: Honorable Mention (2008)

• LA County Metropolitan Transit Authority: Finalist for Metro Neighborhood Poster Project (2006)

• Creative Excellence in Business Advertising Award (CEBA)

• Mentorship: Jay Maisel (2001)
  

Public Speaking

Before 2015, I frequently spoke on topics including nonlinear career paths, branding & communication strategy, storytelling for a purpose, adventure travel & solo travel, contemporary art & art as activism, long term documentary projects.

These days I mostly get interview requests about Tinder Photography, or I speak on the need for digital literacy, refugee education, and a new approach to skills training. 

To invite me to speak, email: charlie [at] charliegrosso [dot] com

CHARLIE GROSSO

Grosso’s life is as much as an expression of her art as her business acumen. Charlie captures the world with irony and sensitivity, wonder and rich understanding. Through her work, we feel deeply and think differently about people and places both familiar and alien. She has serval books in the works in addition to her work at Hello Future in refugee education.
 
She is a graduate of the University of Southern California. A born entrepreneur, she started her first business at age 20.  She has always charted her own path forward, continuously making interesting and unconventional choices, a living proof that being a generalist has many advantages.

Charlie embodies adventure, having traveled across six continents and through more than 80 countries via local bus, train, caravan, and clunker.  She has raced the Mongol Rally, survived a hold-up by Ugandan rebels, and seamlessly translated insights from globetrotting into effective strategies for business. Her journey is like no other; her vision and innovative solutions take us to places we never expect.