Keymaster / Founder
Shane Miles
Shane Miles is the Founder and Creative Director of Bright Matter. Through branding, web development, storytelling, and long-term strategy, Shane partners with leaders across the education landscape to elevate the tools, data, and ideas that shape student opportunity in the United States.
Since launching Bright Matter in 2022, Shane has helped drive major initiatives with national and statewide education partners — from transforming complex research into accessible, actionable tools, to building modern web platforms that help organizations better tell their story, mobilize communities, and drive policy change. His work blends design thinking, technical expertise, and a deep understanding of the education ecosystem to help teams navigate complexity and create work that actually matters.
Before founding Bright Matter, Shane spent more than a decade building creative communities and leading multidisciplinary teams. He co-founded the Downtown Artery in Fort Collins, CO, an arts hub supporting local musicians and visual artists; Sheath Comics, an independent comic publishing company; and PHOCO, a collaborative photography, videography, and design studio. From 2013 to 2021, he served at Toolbox Creative, ultimately becoming Design Director and guiding brand, web, and storytelling projects for mission-driven clients.
Shane loves spending time with his wife and two boys, singing, watching or reading science fiction, playing and watching soccer, building LEGO, and learning anything he can about physics and the universe.
Favorite movie set in a school: Does Harry Potter count? I'm going to say Harry Potter counts. In that case, it's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Something about Sirius Black: crazy, estranged, a little unhinged, really stuck with me. And then (spoiler alert!) he turns out to have Harry’s back through it all, despite his imperfections. Growing up with a dad who had ... some growing to do while I was a kid ... Sirius' redemption story hit me right in the feels.
Fictional teacher I wish I had: It has to be John Keating from Dead Poet's Society, 100%. Not only do I wish I had him as a teacher, but I wish I could be like him when teaching in a classroom. He's a true inspiration.
Favorite class of all time: My favorite class of all time was definitely Mrs. Luther's third-grade class. That class absolutely exploded with creativity. I loved learning about the Amazon rainforest and Iditarod and further, delighted in drawing and hanging up my own sloth (and baby!) and tracking my Iditarod racer across Alaska. I truly felt appreciated for who I was: an engaged, curious student who loved to draw.
Since launching Bright Matter in 2022, Shane has helped drive major initiatives with national and statewide education partners — from transforming complex research into accessible, actionable tools, to building modern web platforms that help organizations better tell their story, mobilize communities, and drive policy change. His work blends design thinking, technical expertise, and a deep understanding of the education ecosystem to help teams navigate complexity and create work that actually matters.
Before founding Bright Matter, Shane spent more than a decade building creative communities and leading multidisciplinary teams. He co-founded the Downtown Artery in Fort Collins, CO, an arts hub supporting local musicians and visual artists; Sheath Comics, an independent comic publishing company; and PHOCO, a collaborative photography, videography, and design studio. From 2013 to 2021, he served at Toolbox Creative, ultimately becoming Design Director and guiding brand, web, and storytelling projects for mission-driven clients.
Shane loves spending time with his wife and two boys, singing, watching or reading science fiction, playing and watching soccer, building LEGO, and learning anything he can about physics and the universe.
Favorite movie set in a school: Does Harry Potter count? I'm going to say Harry Potter counts. In that case, it's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Something about Sirius Black: crazy, estranged, a little unhinged, really stuck with me. And then (spoiler alert!) he turns out to have Harry’s back through it all, despite his imperfections. Growing up with a dad who had ... some growing to do while I was a kid ... Sirius' redemption story hit me right in the feels.
Fictional teacher I wish I had: It has to be John Keating from Dead Poet's Society, 100%. Not only do I wish I had him as a teacher, but I wish I could be like him when teaching in a classroom. He's a true inspiration.
Favorite class of all time: My favorite class of all time was definitely Mrs. Luther's third-grade class. That class absolutely exploded with creativity. I loved learning about the Amazon rainforest and Iditarod and further, delighted in drawing and hanging up my own sloth (and baby!) and tracking my Iditarod racer across Alaska. I truly felt appreciated for who I was: an engaged, curious student who loved to draw.
