We recently had the chance to connect with Dr. Lani Cupchoy and have shared our conversation below.
Lani, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
All three matter equally to me, as their value lies in alignment rather than hierarchy. Intelligence without integrity can lose its ethical grounding, energy without intelligence can become unfocused, and integrity without energy may remain underexpressed.
This principle also guides how I collaborate and engage with others. I pay close attention to alignment in values, intention, and presence, knowing that the quality of any project or relationship is shaped as much by how people work together as by what they produce.
In my own work, intelligence supports clarity and vision, energy sustains momentum, and integrity defines purpose and boundaries. When these elements operate together, the work feels both meaningful and sustainable.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am the founder and CEO of Pinkjade Creations, a creative studio where storytelling, movement, music, and film come together. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, my work has grown out of a lifelong curiosity about expression, connection, and the ways creativity helps people feel seen and understood. I work as an award-winning filmmaker, author, recording artist, movement artist, and educator, allowing each practice to inform the others. I recently released my co-authored book, Echoes of Memory, a decolonial work of public history centered on Sanzao Island during the Japanese occupation of China (1937–1945). Blending oral history, archival research, poetry, and visual narrative, the book reconstructs silenced histories of war, survival, and intergenerational memory. Co-authored with my father, Robert Cupchoy, it reflects our shared commitment to preserving ancestral memory and restoring lived experience to the historical record.
What matters most to me is how work is created. I am intentional about collaboration, energy, and shared values, and I believe the strongest projects emerge when people feel aligned, respected, and inspired. Whether I am developing a film or book, making music, performing, or teaching, I approach each space with care, presence, and authenticity.
Right now, I am focused on growing my company through projects that feel meaningful, joyful, and sustainable. My goal is to create work that resonates emotionally, reflects lived experience, and invites others into moments of beauty, reflection, and connection.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
A defining moment for me was realizing how much the quality of attention shapes outcomes—creative, professional, and human. Early in my work, I observed that the same resources, talent, or ideas could lead to very different results depending on intention, presence, and alignment among the people involved. That awareness shifted how I approached everything.
Rather than focusing solely on achievement, I became deeply attentive to process—how people collaborate, how energy moves in a room, and how values are expressed in action. This perspective has shaped my leadership, my creative practice, and the environments I choose to build and participate in.
Seeing the world this way has reinforced my belief that meaningful work is not only about what is produced, but about the integrity, clarity, and care that guide its creation. That lens continues to inform how I make decisions, form partnerships, and move through my work with intention and confidence.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Trust your discernment and allow yourself to move at your own pace. Not everything requires urgency or external validation, and clarity often unfolds through patience rather than pressure. When decisions are guided by integrity and self-trust, growth becomes both steady and sustainable.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
My closest friends would say that I care deeply about clarity and follow-through. I value showing up consistently, being thoughtful with my time and energy, and honoring commitments in ways that feel grounded and respectful.
They would also say that discernment matters to me — knowing when to move forward, when to pause, and when something is not aligned with my standards. I am selective about the environments I enter and the people I collaborate with, and I believe that sustained growth comes from making considered choices rather than reactive ones.
At the core, what matters most to me is building a life and body of work that feels coherent, purposeful, and steady over time.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
In addition to my recent book, I am continuing to invest in long-form writing and scholarship that unfolds over time, where meaningful work is shaped through sustained research, revision, and dialogue rather than immediacy.
I take an organic approach to writing, allowing ideas to mature at the pace required for depth, rigor, and clarity. While this approach may not produce instant visibility, it creates a foundation for work that can remain relevant, durable, and impactful well beyond the moment it enters the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Lanicupchoy.com
- Instagram: @iamlanicupchoy
- Facebook: Dra.Lanicupchoy
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7zzLfsF4prEQCpR6C95wzN
