Tiffany Koyama Lane is a public school teacher, union organizer, Japanese American (Yonsei), activist, and mama of two. She is running for Portland City Council in District 3 (inner SE Portland), where she is proud to live and work. Tiffany earned her BA and MA in Education at the University of Oregon (go Ducks!), and has spent her entire professional life in public education, teaching kindergarten through fifth grade in schools ranging from under-resourced Title 1 schools to magnet programs. Tiffany is currently a third-grade teacher at Sunnyside Environmental School, and an active member of the Sunnyside community. In the classroom, Tiffany loves supporting students of all backgrounds, encouraging kids to bring their full selves into learning. She received the 2022 “Teachers Rock” Award and was a 2023 runner-up for OnPoint Educator of the Year for the energy and care she brings to her teaching.

Teacher Tiffany is for the people, and she’s fighting for a safe, connected, housed Portland where everyone can thrive. As a fourth-generation Japanese American, Tiffany stands on the shoulders of generations of people working for change. Her approach to teaching and community work is informed by her family’s experience in WWII-era Japanese incarceration camps. In the summer of 2020, Tiffany became a community organizer for child- and family-centered anti-racist events, co-hosting student-led marches and bringing in speakers, musicians and artists, to share their experiences with Portland’s youth. An engaged member of the local AAPI community, Tiffany has served on the Teacher Advisory Councils at the Portland Art Museum and the Japanese American Museum of Oregon. Through the National Endowment for the Humanities, she’s participated in powerful landmark programs at the Japanese-American National Museum and the Wing Luke Museum.

Tiffany loves Portland and the beautiful Pacific Northwest. In her free time, you can find her biking around the city, dancing, thrifting, and adventuring outdoors with her husband, Tim, and their two boys.