The Founder
25 years in Minnesota public education. 20 years in curriculum coordination. More than $1.3 million in awarded grants — written during evenings and weekends, because the work mattered.
My Story
I didn't start my career as a grant writer. I started it as a fifth-grade teacher in Iowa City, trying to figure out how to give kids more than the system had budgeted for them.
That instinct followed me to Roseville Area Schools, where I spent 12 years as a K-12 Curriculum Coordinator for STEM. I doubled the number of college credit-bearing courses in under three years. I built business and industry partnerships that led to equipment donations, mentoring relationships, and real internship pathways. And I started to realize that the most powerful lever in public education isn't pedagogy — it's funding.
When I joined School District 197 in 2018, I brought that same systems-thinking approach to secondary curriculum. And I started writing grants — not because it was part of my job description, but because I could see exactly what our students needed and I knew how to make the case to funders who had the resources to help.
The results followed. A $617,000 MDE grant to expand AP and CTE coursework for students of color. A $440,000 Native Language Restoration grant bringing Ojibwe language instruction to Two Rivers High School. A $100,000 Youth Skills Training grant opening paid internship pathways for students with IEPs. More than $1.3 million in total, written during evenings and weekends, because the work mattered.
Springboard Funding Group exists because I kept asking: what if I did this full time, for more schools? Minnesota has hundreds of districts trying to do right by their students with shrinking budgets and growing needs. Most of them don't have anyone on staff who knows how to navigate the grant landscape — and many of them are leaving real money on the table.
That's the gap I built Springboard to fill. Not as a consultant who writes from a distance, but as someone who has sat in the rooms, run the curriculum reviews, built the advisory committees, and written the proposals that actually win.
"What gets measured gets done. What gets funded gets built."
If your district is ready to build something — a new career pathway, a native language program, a college-readiness initiative, or something you haven't yet put a name to — I'd like to help you fund it.
Start a ConversationHow We Think
The strongest grant applications are built on programs that genuinely exist and matter. We start by understanding what your district is already doing — then find the funders whose priorities align with your work.
Every compelling proposal is grounded in your district's real numbers — enrollment trends, outcome gaps, participation rates. We help you find and frame that data in ways funders respond to.
Minnesota's most competitive grants reward proposals that center equity in measurable, specific ways. That's not a checkbox for us — it's the lens through which we read every RFP and draft every goal.
A single grant is a one-time win. A grant pipeline is a revenue strategy. We help districts think beyond the next deadline toward a multi-year funding picture that supports long-term programming.
We know how UFARS codes work, how school boards need information presented, and how to coordinate across finance, HR, and curriculum without creating chaos in your district office.
Grant writing has a win rate. Not every application succeeds. We're honest about odds, strategic about where to focus your energy, and transparent when a funder isn't the right fit.
Professional Background
Miles has been an active participant in Minnesota's curriculum and education leadership community for over two decades, including membership and participation in:
No sales pitch. Just a conversation about your goals, your gaps, and whether Springboard is the right fit to help.
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