‘Run for Love’ Honors Brianna Kupfer

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Brianna Kupfer was taken from this world too soon, but she will never be forgotten by friends and loved ones. On Saturday morning her family held a “Run for Brianna, Run for Love” at Brentwood School to celebrate what would have been the aspiring young fashion designer’s 25th birthday.

Brianna’s parents, Todd and Lori Kupfer, hosted and participated in the event, which raised funds for the Brianna Kupfer Foundation that was launched on February 4 to support causes dear to Brianna, including environmental and social justice issues and the protection and empowerment of women.

“We decided to launch that right away to honor her and her legacy and champion things that we knew she was very fond of,” Todd said.

The foundation is a collective family effort: her sister Mikaela is the foundation’s chair, Lori is the current secretary, Todd is the treasurer and Brianna’s brothers Brandon and Tucker are directors.

“We have so many friends and families that we know in the community, we want it to be about remembering Brianna,” Todd said.

Runners and walkers were encouraged to seek sponsors by either mileage or time on the track. Those who raised $500 received a commemorative hat or tote and those who raised $1,000 received both. There were food trucks and beverages available as community members were invited to run, walk, dance or do yoga—all things Brianna enjoyed—in celebration of her birthday.

“It feels like evil is abound in Los Angeles and we want to close the divide,” Lori added. “We want people to be unified and spread light and love.”

Kupfer was stabbed to death on the afternoon of January 13 while working alone at Croft House, a luxury furniture store in Hancock Park. She was 24 years old.   

“Bri was the type of person you love to work with,” associates at Croft House shared. “The attitude she brought to the team was infectious. She was a joy to be around, an amazing colleague and a wonderful friend. Our hearts break for her family and the bright future that was taken from us all. She is loved and she is missed.”

Her brothers were both athletes. Tucker played soccer and golf at St. Matthew’s and was a PPBA All-Star while Brandon played for the Dragons in the LA Lacrosse League.

“Brianna was an incredibly creative, loving person,” Tucker said. “She made everyone she talked to smile because she was so full of love and empathy.”

Growing up in the Palisades, Brianna attended St. Matthew’s Parish School and then Brentwood School. She went to the University of Miami, then with her eye for aesthetics, studied architectural design at UCLA. She was involved with the locally-founded environmental organization Resilient Palisades, and according to her sister, her dream was to create her own clothing line.

“In the last few months of her life, Brianna was always seen sporting her favorite knee-high white cowboy boots,” Mikaela Kupfer wrote in a tribute to her sister on the foundation webpage. “She single-handedly decorated her room and didn’t hold back with her ideas on how to redecorate her family home. Above all, Brianna was truly a role model for caring and love. She loved deeply and strongly and put others before her. Brianna was an angel on and off this earth. It’s hard to find people like Brianna, who truly represent the good in this world. If we love each other and this earth as fiercely as she did we can mold this world into a better place.”

To learn more about the foundation, visit briannafoundation.org. More photos of the event can be found on Page 10.