It takes a village of dedicated people to uplift each other and make their community a better place. Tiffany Gulley keeps herself busy by helping others in every aspect of her life, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.
Support from those who believe in her has propelled Gulley to succeed in her professional life. Straight out of Portage High School, she continued assisting in a preschool for Head Start until she found an opportunity to become a dialysis technician. This job led Gulley to an opening on Franciscan Health’s customer service call team. After 15 years at the company, it’s surreal for her to believe she’s the manager of enterprise management and service excellence, a position she officially started in April.
Gulley learned about the world of local politics through her husband, who was a Portage City councilman from 2020 to 2024. She decided to run for Portage Township Board President, a position she was elected to in 2022, after learning about the office’s low demand positions with high community impact. Gulley was impressed by the financial assistance and different programs the Portage Township Trustee Office offers for the greater Portage area, which covers Portage, Ogden Dunes, and South Haven.
“They do a ton of free programs through their parks department because we do serve a financially disadvantaged population,” Gulley said. “Those are the things that speak to me, that touch my heart, that I want to be involved in. It's an elected position with some philanthropic type work, and that's what drove me to run for the advisory board.”
Gulley would love to eventually head an initiative in Portage Township, but she’s kept busy with her four children and her positions, which include being the treasurer of the parent staff organization at Central Elementary School. For the time being, she’s more than happy to stand alongside someone to further their cause, such as developing the Evergreen Skate Park.
With three of her four siblings and her mother all living close to each other, Gulley wouldn’t be where she is without the support of her family. She believes the family was shaped by the death of her father in a motorcycle accident 19 years ago. Losing him unexpectedly challenges them daily to be better and not give up. Above all, the family dynamic changed to prioritize raising the 17 grandchildren close together and support each other in whatever way they can. Gulley credits her parents and her siblings for her philanthropic outlook on life.
“Our parents raised us to do the right thing,” Gulley said. “I could never pass up a situation or an opportunity where I know I could help or contribute to something. It gives me purpose to know there are people out there that need help with something and that I'm able to use my time for something beneficial.”
The lifelong Portage resident believes there are always ways to improve ourselves and the community. For example, the Portage Township Autism Action Coalition (PTAAC) provides families of children with autism silicone bracelets with ID numbers connected to local police agencies. PTAAC also provides calm-down kits to first responders for when they encounter a person who may need one. No matter the size of the initiative, Gulley implores individuals to get involved through the city, the township or volunteer positions.
“There are just so many volunteer and nonprofit options you can get involved with and provide your time and effort into to help make Portage a better place,” Gulley said.
A community can’t thrive off of one person’s gracious hand, but it can become the place it needs to be for its residents when another hand reaches out to help. Gulley believes what she does in her positions benefits the communities she’s a part of and ensures people receive the help they need.
“Anything I can do to help make things better for other people — to solve their problems to improve things — that's what drives me,” Gulley said. “I'm always looking at it from that angle of ‘How can I improve things? How can I make this better for somebody else?’”