Virada "VC" Chatikul

Founder

VC is a speaker and consultant. She founded Samai Insights with a vision for a future where people pursue livelihoods, lifestyles, and dreams that are in harmony with the natural world, our health, our creativity, and our interdependence.

The company was founded during the pandemic, and further fueled by anti-Asian sentiment and violence, when VC left her job to pursue a long-held dream of a creative and practice-based lifestyle that integrates her love of storytelling as well as ancestral practices from Asian traditions.

VC has two decades of experience developing educational experiences and professional development programs for youth and adults rooted in self-discovery, leadership, and traditional practices in modern times. Her nuanced approach comes from being mentored by teachers in Asian arts all her life. She spent over 30 years immersed in community, ritual, and performing arts at the Berkeley Thai Buddhist temple, and currently trains in applying Taijiquan and Zen principles in daily life.

VC holds an MBA from the University of San Francisco, and she previously supported hundreds of leaders as Senior Manager and Co-Director of Programs at the Rockwood Leadership Institute. Born and raised in San Francisco, VC enjoys pop music, Star Trek, and epic movies.