Athletic Fields Project Opens Doors to Nonprofit Work

When Gene Miller got involved in a capital campaign to renovate Weston's athletic fields, she had no idea that it would be so successful ... or that it would launch her into a career with Families United in Educational Leadership (FUEL).

Miller was recently promoted from chief operating officer to executive director at FUEL, a Boston-based nonprofit that "inspires low-income families with financial incentives, and offers educational resources for their children’s college educations."

Miller is no stranger to administration or nonprofit work. She continues to serve on a variety of boards and with several organizations and served as bank executive vice president before having children.

"Once I had children … I started doing a lot of consulting things," Miller said. "All things to be around the home more and have more flexibility."

In the midst of that time at home, Miller became involved, along with several other Weston residents, in a "complicated" campaign to update and renovate nearly all of Weston's athletic fields.

The project was "complicated," Miller said, because it involved a partnership and cooperation among town and private money as well as private money and town lands.

"We couldn't find precedence for this anywhere in the country," Miller said, adding that the organization of the project had to be developed from scratch. "There were lots of complex issues to work though, yet it was clear the fields needed work. They hadn't been updated in many years."

As the project progressed, the volunteers, including Miller, came to know Robert Hildreth, a "social entrepreneur" with prior connections to Weston who was called upon for help working through the complex project.

Ultimately, the athletic field project was a success, Miller said, and her relationship with Hildreth soon turned into a job at a new nonprofit, FUEL, that Hildreth founded.

Miller said Hildreth approached her about coming to work for his nonprofit, and, though she thought of Hildreth as a "visionary philanthropist," she said she initially turned down his offer in favor of staying home for a few more years.

After a week, she changed her mind.

"'What am I? Crazy? I'll never get a chance like this to make this kind of impact,'" Miller said she thought. With that, she accepted the job.

"I did think that at some point I would want to take the plunge and be on the not-for-profit side," Miller said of her career path. "My family has a long history of mixing business with family service. I guess I decided as the doors kept opening, that I was supposed to walk through them."

FUEL, Miller explained, is focused on helping low-income families invest in the college educations of their children.

"FUEL is a work-fair model versus a well-fare model," Miller explained. "We motivate people to put skin in the game. Rather than a handout, this is a 'We'll match you, but you gotta do your part first.'

"It's very transformative," Miller continued. "The whole family is lifted."

Miller said that the families working with FUEL do so with passion and commitment.

"If a family saves, they suddenly have flipped the switch that this is going to be a college-going family," Miller said, adding that the program is currently working with 490 students in school and all are headed to college. "The families that come to us and want to be in our program are highly motivated."

In her new role as executive director, Miller said she will continue many of the tasks she handled as the nonprofit's COO. In general, Miller explained, Hildreth focuses on the vision of FUEL and how to expand its platform while she is the person "that's running the shop, hiring people. running the staff, dealing with all the fundraising."

"It's working, and it's great to work with someone like [Hildreth]," Miller said. "Bob spends his entire time thinking about change -- how to change the world, how to make it better."