Nana Tuffin is a graduate of Brigham Young University-Hawaii, where she earned a bachelor's degree in political science. She brings a range of experience to the Oregon Executive MBA program, including several years spent as a court operations specialist for the Oregon Judicial Department's citizen review board, a program that reviews the cases of children in foster care. She has also served as the primary president for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Born in Hawaii, Tuffin spent seven years living in Germany, where she learned to speak German.