After receiving a Bachelor of Arts from the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University, Lani Click, also known at Yale as Lani London, was admitted to the Yale School of Drama as the sole woman playwright in the class of 1973. After receiving her Master of Fine Arts, she created an original survey, which was later transformed into an article called “The Playwriting Student: A Threatened Species,” published by the Yale Alumni Magazine.
Lani worked as a playwright for many years and taught on the faculties of the University of Connecticut, Hampshire College and the Community College of Baltimore County. While in Massachusetts, Lani became the first playwright in residence of a church in the United States, at the Second Congregational Church of Holyoke, Massachusetts. From Yale Lani learned that “playwriting was best learned in the process of production,” an original tenet of Yale’s first playwriting professor, George Pierce Baker. She encouraged her students to write short plays, which were then tested out with staged readings in class.
While living in Baltimore, Lani worked as a script reader for the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. She met the choreographer and director Virginia Freeman, who asked her to write a play about the world of dance that included music, dance and singing. “Pick Up Your Feet and Away We Go” had its opening at the Smithsonian and later toured in China as one of the inaugural plays from the United States. Lani also worked on a one woman show about the life of actress Eleonora Duse, which was performed at Georgetown University with Dorothea Hammond.
In 1984, Lani moved to south Florida with her family. She was influenced by the tropical beauty of the landscape. She decided to try something new as the owner and designer of her new company, Palm Beach Purses. Images of the region’s marine life, abundant flora and fauna, and waterfowl are used in her purse designs. Their motto is “We carry nature on our shoulders,” and they choose their fabrics to create awareness for local endangered species, such as the loggerhead sea turtle, coral, seahorses and starfish, as there is no solution for extinction. To foster awareness, Palm Beach Purses has donated hundreds of purses to schools and charities, and by carrying one of their purses, people are creating a solution to extinction and bringing attention to a global issue. Lani received the Best New Business Award by the Jupiter branch of Bank Atlantic for Palm Beach Purses.
Lani enjoys being a “serial entrepreneur.” The playwriting influence transformed into Clicking In. Clicking In, a forum for thought leadership and the exchange of new ideas surfaced to become a new way of transforming ideas by hosting several forums throughout Palm Beach County with distinguished lectures on leadership, entrepreneurship, arts and the sciences. They explore current issues, trends of the times, and provide a platform for global experts and leaders who have a connection to south Florida.
As founder and president, Lani founded Clicking In in 2010. She currently serves as president of the organization. Her personal and business philosophy is based on how choices define us. She has a strong belief in being charitable, donating to her favorite causes, and igniting and inspiring young people — many who have worked with her. Strong leadership is comprised of excellent communication skills, mental toughness, and compassion, along with an understanding of world history, politics, economics, philosophy and social media.
Throughout the course of her career, she has received numerous awards for her professional body of work, including several awards for Clicking In as the Best Nonprofit Organization for Jupiter in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Every season Clicking In provides lectures on a variety of subjects. (See addenda for a list of past Clicking In forums.)
Outside of her work, Lani remains a former member of the National Society of Arts and Letters, the Palm Beach Writers Group, the Dramatists Guild, American Pen Women, Northern Palm Beach Cultural Alliance, Lighthouse Arts Center, Jupiter Lighthouse and Museum, Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, and the Yale Club of the Palm Beaches, where she has served as the vice president since 1987.
Though Lani Click has experienced numerous professional highlights, she is most proud of her two sons, Kenneth Randall, who works in financial services, and Adam Elliott, who works as a global account executive for Google in Singapore, as well as her loving husband, David Forrest Click.
Addenda for Clicking In Forums
- “What Do Women Want?”
Keynotes: Dr. Maria Vallejo, assistant provost at Palm Beach State College; Jane Davis Dogget, MFA, Yale, architect, author and designer - “You Ought to be in Pictures”
Keynote: Frank Eberling, Emmy Award winning filmmaker and professor at Palm Beach State College - “Work, Sex, and Love, Oh My!”
Keynote: Dr. Debi Yohn, psychologist who practiced therapy in China - “There are No Second Acts in American Life”
Keynote: Shirley Arkin, opera star and first American woman stockbroker in Miami - “Wish I Knew Then What I Know Now: Lessons in Leadership”
Keynote: Dr. Maria Vallejo, assistant provost at Palm Beach State College - “A Conversation With Real Estate Developer Jeff Greene”
Keynote: Jeff Greene - “What’s So Funny? The Importance of Humor in a Grim World”
Keynote: Frank Licari, actor, producer, director - “A Brief Course in Art History”
Keynote: JoAnne Berkow, artist, author, entrepreneur - “Advice About Growing Older”
Keynote: Valerie Ramsey, model, author - “The Secret Formula”
Keynote: James Gabler, author of historical fiction and wine expert - “Everything Happens for a Reason”
Keynote: Liz Sterling, radio broadcaster sharing advice from her recent book of interviews - “The Secrets of the Jupiter Lighthouse and Museum”
Keynote: Jamie Stuve, chief executive officer of the Jupiter Lighthouse and Museum - “The Making of Magic of the Maltz Jupiter Theatre”
Keynote: Jennifer Sardone Shiner - “Meet the LGBT Community of Palm Beach County”
Keynote: Tim Luke, moderator - “Something New About Something Old”
Keynote: Scott Simmons, editor at Florida Weekly, antique collector - “All About Love: The History of Valentine’s Day”
Opening Guided Meditation led by Donna Jones, RN
Keynote: Nancy Politsch, chief executive officer of Lighthouse Arts Center - “Three Wellsprings of Leadership: Leadership That Transcends Lists of Character Traits”
Keynote: John Joseph Long, author - “Etiquette Essentials for Success at Work”
Keynote: Jacqueline Whitmore, founder of the Protocol School of the Palm Beaches, etiquette - “The Sex Life of the Palm Beach Dolphins”
Keynote: Barbara Brunnick, PhD, marine biologist - “How to Get to Happy: A Comedian’s Take on Stress and Things That Drive Your Crazy”
Keynote: Jane Condon, comedian - “ArtStage: The Importance of Dance for Children”
Keynote: Linda White, founder and owner of ArtStage - “Love Letters in Sand”
Keynote: Marcia Kay Chellis, author - “Earth Day Celebration: A Performance Tribute to Earth Day Conservation”