Bryan Butcher Jr., the 2025 Oregon Teacher of the Year, is a seventh-grade mathematics teacher at Beaumont Middle School in Portland, OR. He graduated from Grant High School in 2008 and earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology, magna cum laude, from Morehouse College. After joining Teach for America and teaching in Brooklyn, NY, he returned to Portland, eventually becoming a school climate specialist at his alma mater, Boise-Eliot Elementary. Missing the classroom, he returned to Beaumont to teach math. Bryan is known for his dedication to school culture, leading many school-wide events and Beaumont's Black Student Union for the past six years. He strives to create a thriving learning environment built on respect and effort, where students feel comfortable taking risks and expressing joy in learning every day.