Chris Bashinelli

Christopher Stephen Peter “Bash” Bashinelli is an American actor, producer, explorer, and television host.^[1] He is best known as the executive producer and host of the television series, Bridge the Gap, which currently airs on PBS ^[2] and the National Geographic channel.^[3] Bashinelli is also known for being one of the youngest people ^[4] to ever moderate an event at the United Nations General Assembly Hall.^[5]

Christopher Bashinelli was born on November 10, 1986, to Stephen and Florence Bashinelli, who are, respectively, of Italian and Lebanese descent.^[6] Chris was born and raised in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York ^[7] and attended Xaverian High School. He attended Marymount Manhattan College and graduated in 2008 with a BA in Theatre Arts.^[8]

Bashinelli has appeared on television (The Sopranos, 2007) and in several films: How to Grow a Fig Tree (2007), Knock Knock (2007), Last Day of Summer (2009), Good Shot Bash (2009), Take Off (2009), and All Screwed Up (2009).^[9]

In 2010 Bashinelli moderated the Launch of the International Year of Youth in the United Nations General Assembly Hall with the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.^[10] In 2011, at 24 years old, Bashinelli became the youngest male^[11] to moderate the United Nations International Day of Peace.^[5]

In 2007, at age 20 Bashinelli went to Tanzania as a part of a study abroad program. When he returned he developed the documentary short, Bridge the Gap: Tanzania (2009), in an attempt to show a positive view of Tanzania and its people.^[6] This film premiered at the Zanzibar International Film Festival in Tanzania in 2009.^[12]

Following the completion of Bridge the Gap: Tanzania, Bashinelli launched the production company Bridge the Gap TV. Bridge the Gap TV focuses on telling the stories of everyday life in a positive way from areas around the world that often receive negative media attention.^[13]

Bridge the Gap TV has produced four episodes of the Bridge the Gap series in addition to Tanzania that are currently airing on PBS^[2] and the National Geographic Channel (3). Episodes include Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Haiti, Uganda and Mongolia.^[3]

In 2012 Bashinelli was named a National Geographic Young Explorer,^[1] which awards grants to help fund projects “supporting new generations of archaeologists, anthropologists, astronomers, conservationists, ecologists, geographers, geologists, marine scientists, adventurers, storytellers, and pioneers.^[14]” Bashinelli used his grant to help fund Bridge the Gap to Mongolia, where he lived as a nomad.^[4]