I’M CHRIS SCHEMBRA,

Keynote speaker, founder of 7:47, and gratitude expert determined to help you CONNECT.

I’ve dedicated my life to the question of gratitude, the power of impact, and the meaning of connection — because with that, we’ve helped thousands of people find meaning in their lives, scope out joy in their workplaces, and create lives that feel good to them.

I’m the founder and Chief Question Asker of the 7:47 Gratitude Experience™ — an evidence-based framework used to strengthen client and team relationships in profound ways — as well as the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Gratitude Through Hard Times and Gratitude and Pasta. I’ve used the principles of gratitude to spark over 500,000 relationships within the workplace, USA Today calls me their "Gratitude Guru", and I’m a Founding Member of Rolling Stone Magazine's Culture Council.

As a keynote speaker and expert connector, I’ve spoken at hundreds of institutions like Microsoft, Google, IBM, Dell, the US Navy, Air Force, and Harvard — and I’m beyond glad that you’re here.

I’M DRIVEN BY THESE WORDS FROM WRITER MAYA ANGELOU:

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but PEOPLE WILL NEVER FORGET HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.”

When I came back from a trip to Italy in 2015, my entire life changed. To put it simply, I realized that the Italians were doing it right. They were connected with each other, they weren’t in such a hurry, and they were living lives that felt good. Me, on the other hand? Well, I was lonely, disconnected, insecure, and tired — and I desperately needed connection and gratitude in my life. So I invented a pasta sauce recipe.

On July 15, 2015, I hosted a dinner party in my New York City apartment. Fueled by pasta and delegated tasks, we gathered together — in a group of people who didn’t know each other — and we ate. Together. Then, at 7:47 PM, I asked everyone a simple 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?” It changed everything for us all. Our attendees brought forth the most amazing stories, filled with gratitude and connection. And every week, week after week, I hosted those dinner parties.

When I realized a few months later that I was feeling JOY, I bawled my eyes out and realized I had chased that joy wrong my entire life. All those stints in rehab didn’t quite do it. Because as Johan Hari once said, “The opposite of addiction is not sobriety, it’s human connection.” Word started to get around town of the meaningful moments of connection we were creating, and pretty soon, the phone started ringing — and businesses wanted me to craft that same feeling of gratitude and connection for their team and customers. Those original dinner parties created the spark of what would become the 7:47 Gratitude Experience™. Our experiences, and the company we built around it are driven by an evidence-based, proven framework with a 99.8% guaranteed positive emotional transformation — led by me, Chris Schembra.

Now, propelled by that framework, I lead keynotes, advise, and craft intimate experiences for teams, organizations, and clients.