What Soft Power Looks Like Today
Soft power thrives through symbols, narratives, and the individuals who carry them. It appears in who occupies public space, whose stories reach visibility, and how identity is shaped within civic and cultural life. In an age of constant noise, soft power is what resonates and endures.
Tiffany Chang embodies this influence through multidimensional presence. “Soft power isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room,” Tiffany says. “It’s about showing up so consistently and authentically that your presence alone creates trust.”
Her impact across fashion, STEM, film, and community leadership reinforces itself - each sphere extending the reach of the next. This layered influence earned her recognition from NY Weekly, naming her among the Top 20 Women Leaders to Watch for her cultural, technological, and community contributions.
Pageantry as Cultural Power
For Tiffany, pageantry has never been about spectacle, it has always been about platform. As Miss Taiwanese American 2022, she used her role to magnify Taiwanese visibility in mainstream American culture, engaging in civic and cultural events that placed Taiwanese identity at the center of public awareness.
As Miss Asia USA 2024, her reach expanded across the Asian American diaspora, representing its diversity, modernity, and leadership with intention and grace.
“Pageantry gave me a microphone,” she reflects. “But soft power is about what you choose to say and who you choose to uplift with it.”
Through this lens, pageantry becomes a form of diplomacy, where identity is presented with purpose.
Fashion as a Language of Influence
Tiffany’s presence in fashion is marked by significance. She is often seen on prestigious runways, in cultural institutions, and regularly as the finale model, the closing presence who carries the emotional weight of a designer’s vision.
A finale walk is not merely the last moment; it is the lasting image, the symbolic signature of a show. “When I’m chosen to close a show, I see it as carrying the story of everyone who came before me,” she shares. “It’s not about the spotlight, it's about responsibility.”
This presence has evolved into something larger: Tiffany has become a recognizable face of the modern AAPI community, elegant, multidimensional, and confident without excess.
Presence in Civic and Cultural Rituals
Soft power often manifests in moments that appear symbolic but are deeply influential.
Tiffany has participated in the Fourth of July Parade in Huntington Beach, the Tết Parade in Orange County, and the Chinese New Year Dragon Parade in Los Angeles, placing Asian American dignity and visibility at the heart of American civic traditions.
She has also thrown the first pitch at professional baseball and basketball games, roles traditionally reserved for figures who embody community trust.
“Soft power shows up when people see you in places they don’t expect but instantly understand you belong,” she says. Through each appearance, she reinforces a powerful truth: Asian American identity is not peripheral, but rather, it is central to American life.
Uplifting the Next Generation
Soft power grows when it is shared. Tiffany has collaborated with organizations such as the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles, mentoring young girls particularly those who are shy or uncertain of confidence, poise, and self-presence.
“Confidence is a skill, not a personality,” she teaches. “Once girls understand that, everything changes.”. Her approach is gentle yet profound: she empowers not by urging girls to be louder, but by helping them stand firmly in who they are.
Leadership in Cultural and Luxury Spaces
Tiffany’s influence extends into elite cultural spaces. She has served as a moderator for Chanel, leading conversations around luxury, design, and creative leadership. She also moderates dialogues featuring influential AAPI leaders, helping shape narratives that connect heritage, innovation, and impact. Here, soft power is expressed through stewardship, the art of guiding meaningful conversations.
Breaking Stereotypes in STEM and AI
A defining dimension of Tiffany’s identity is her foundation in STEM and artificial intelligence, shaped through her studies at Stanford University. “I never saw a reason to separate creativity from technology,” she notes. “AI shapes culture just as much as culture shapes AI.” Her presence pushes back against outdated assumptions about Asian women in science and technology, placing intelligence, ethics, and creativity together within one empowered, multidimensional narrative.
Storytelling, Ethics, and The Vale
Tiffany also serves as an Executive Producer for The Vale, a film that examines artificial intelligence, ethics, and the human consequences of technological power. “The question isn’t whether AI will change our lives,” she reflects. “It’s whether we choose to guide it with intention.” Through cinema and cultural storytelling, she extends her soft power from representation to authorship, shaping how future audiences will understand and contextualize emerging technologies.
In an era shaped by perception, narrative, and credibility, soft power has become the most enduring form of influence. And Tiffany Chang, Miss Taiwanese American 2022, Miss Asia USA 202a4, and one of NY Weekly’s Top 20 Women Leaders to Watch is not merely participating in this cultural shift. She is defining it. She is leading it. She is setting the blueprint for what empowered, multidimensional representation looks like in the next generation.
