Heather Mills | Principal Consultant
Tilson

As a Principal Consultant for Tilson Technology Consulting's Broadband Consulting team, Heather advises clients on all aspects of grant preparation and grants management and supports clients with application preparation and awardee program compliance, as well as programmatic monitoring and compliance. Her recent experience includes supporting grant program design for BEAD. She has more than a decade of experience in project management and data analysis, with exceptional skills in long-term strategic planning for broadband funding, execution of complex tactical funding plans, and grant administration, budgeting, and financial and programmatic reporting. She is also an expert in NEPA and Section 106 processes and has spent more than a decade supporting clients with FCC programs such as E-rate and Lifeline/ACP. Previously, Heather held the title of Vice President of Grant and Funding Strategies for CTC Technology & Energy, where she developed strategies and delivered tactical application and post-award support for public sector clients while overseeing a team of grant writers and compliance specialists. Her experience includes supporting client applications to major federal broadband and communications grant programs, such as ARC/EDA POWER grants, USDA RUS grants (including ReConnect and Community Connect), and NTIA grants (including recent BIP and Middle Mile Grants) and state grant opportunities supported by CARES and ARPA funding. As noted above, in her experience working with FCC programs such as Lifeline/ACP, E-rate, and the Healthcare Connect Fund, she authored participant and provider guides for those programs. She has supported clients with strategy and navigation of the USDA ReConnect application process through Rounds 1, 2, 3, and 4, which required a detailed understanding of the application, the application portal, and applied strategy. Heather has advised clients on federal funding programs such as NTIA COVID stimulus programs (SLFRF, CPF, Middle Mile Grants), the FCC's Emergency Broadband Benefit and the Affordable Connectivity Program, the EDA's ARPA programs, while keeping a close eye on and providing support for implementation/development of BEAD requirements for state clients. Heather has also supported Grant Management System's integrations for clients and has deep experience guiding deployments of full lifecycle systems such as Sales Force, WizeHive, and AmpliFund, and supporting clients existing systems such as Submittable and Zoom Grants. Finally, as noted above, Heather has extensive experience supporting NEPA and Section 106 reviews for awarded grants. This includes desk reviews, drafting, communications with NIST, and detailed follow-up as it relates to Historical/Tribal consultations. Heather holds a bachelor's degree in English; a master’s degree in political science with an emphasis on public policy and public administration; and a master’s degree in science of management, with an emphasis in financial management.