Chris Schembra

Background

About Chris Schembra

I help people feel seen. That’s the through line of everything I do, from hosting 785+ Gratitude Experiences around the world to speaking on stages about emotional intelligence, gratitude, and human connection. Whether I’m guiding a CEO through a moment of truth or welcoming strangers to a table in my home, my mission is the same: to create spaces where people slow down, open up, and rediscover their humanity. I’m the founder of 7:47, the modern dinner-table movement helping thousands of leaders, teams, and communities reconnect in an age of burnout, loneliness, and digital distraction. What began as a single dinner in my tiny New York City apartment, born from a moment of loneliness and a bowl of pasta, has grown into a global initiative trusted by more than 400 companies including Microsoft, Dell, Google, IBM, and the U.S. Navy. My belief is simple but radical: the dinner table is one of the last places where people still pause long enough to listen, feel, and belong. And when you create intentional space for gratitude, you unlock human potential. Over the past decade, I’ve developed frameworks like the PASTA Method (Pause, Ask, Savor, Take Action, Appreciate) and Inquisitive Empathy to help leaders move beyond surface-level conversation and into transformative connection. Through my keynotes, workshops, writings, and signature dinners, I teach that gratitude is not a sentiment, it’s a strategy, and that human connection isn’t built by chance; it’s built by design. I’m also a Wall Street Journal bestselling author and a columnist for Rolling Stone and CNBC. But more than anything, I’m a student.of pain, of presence, of story, of what makes us human. I believe in chosen surrender, courageous listening, and the idea that we don’t heal alone. We heal in community. If you’re building something bold, leading through uncertainty, or simply longing for more meaning in your life and work, reach out. Let’s begin with a question: If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life, that you don’t give enough credit or thanks to, who would that be?