Featured StayGainesville Guest: Phoebe Cade Miles: Forbes

Along with Halle Berry and Maria Shriver, Phoebe Cade Miles stands as a beacon of inventivity—a visionary leader whose impact spans from Gainesville to the national stage. Honored in Forbes’s 50 Over 50: Impact (2025), she is widely celebrated for transforming a legacy into a living institution that shapes creative minds and communities.

Born in Gainesville to Dr. James Robert Cade—the lead inventor of Gatorade—Phoebe grew up amidst the culture of curiosity and experimentation. Childhood memories of homemade jam and whimsical inventions alongside her father became seedbeds for her lifelong belief in the power of creativity as education.

In 2004, she co-founded the Cade Museum Foundation with her husband Richard Miles to preserve and amplify that spirit. After years of community fundraising and planning, the Cade Museum for Creativity & Invention finally opened in May 2018 in Gainesville’s Depot Park—on a rehabilitated brownfield site transformed into a vibrant hub for STEAM learning.

A Cultural Landmark in Gainesville

The museum, a spiraled nautilus-shaped building symbolizing the Fibonacci sequence, offers interactive experiences that bring invention to life. One wing is dedicated to Dr. Cade, featuring his laboratory artifacts and the story of Gatorade, while the rest of the space hosts exploratory exhibits on optics, film, aviation, and more.

Central to Miles's vision is her proprietary Inventivity Framework, an educational curriculum deeply tied to Next Generation Science Standards. It teaches invention as a method, combining creativity, resilience, and pragmatic experimentation. These units are natively integrated into the Cade Museum and designed to scale to classrooms, libraries, and science centers nationwide.

The Cade Prize for Innovation

Since 2010, Phoebe and her husband have championed the Cade Prize. Initially a Florida-focused initiative, the prize went national in 2023. It awards up to $100,000 to early-stage inventors whose ideas can change the world. Unlike most competitions, the Cade Prize doesn’t require a prototype—only a well-thought-out concept and a compelling potential for impact.

Past winners include teams developing clean energy storage, medical diagnostics, and sustainable farming tech. The prize is as much about mentorship and exposure as it is about funding. Phoebe has personally mentored finalists, helping them craft pitches and refine business models.

The Creativity Lab and Fab Lab inside the museum are equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters, and design tools, fostering hands-on invention. The Spark Tank competitions are wildly popular, giving middle and high school students a platform to pitch their inventions and receive feedback from local entrepreneurs.

We are honored to host Phoebe Miles at a StayGainesville historic home, The Camellia Rose Inn, during her busy museum events and media interviews. True to form, Phoebe always arrives with a sparkle in her eye and a bag full of ideas.

Phoebe and Richard Miles have been long time StayGainesville clients- they value the service and properties we provide.

It was clear from that visit that Phoebe doesn’t just create spaces for innovation—she carries that spirit with her wherever she goes.

Over 245,000 visitors have experienced the Cade Museum’s transformative programming since 2018.

The museum serves thousands of children and educators annually through onsite and outreach programs.

Phoebe’s leadership earned her a top-five spot in Forbes 50 Over 50: Impact (2025), honoring her role in creativity, education, and invention.

She was inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame, further amplifying her status as a visionary leader and catalyst for change.

1. Invention as a Teaching Philosophy

By making invention a teachable, accessible process, Miles equips learners with critical thinking skills that transcend the classroom. Her work breaks down the myth that invention is only for scientists or tech geniuses.

2. Bridging Legacy with Innovation

Phoebe has extended her father’s legacy not by replicating it, but by reimagining what legacy can mean—building a public institution that encourages experimentation in every discipline.

3. Accessibility & Inclusion

Her focus on underserved communities ensures that innovation isn’t reserved for the elite. Mobile labs, scholarships, and curriculum translations into Spanish and Creole expand the museum’s reach.

4. A Local Legacy with National Reach

Though headquartered in Gainesville, the Cade Museum’s programming, curriculum, and prize infrastructure now serve as models nationwide.

Global Perspective and Leadership Style

Phoebe’s worldview was shaped by more than her upbringing. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate in German and History from the University of Washington, she spent 15+ years living in Germany, Barbados, and Argentina. Her international experience gives her a unique lens on education—one that values diversity, multilingualism, and creative problem-solving.

She is known not just for her strategic thinking, but for her grounded leadership style. Board members, staff, and students describe her as “visionary but humble,” someone who gives credit freely and listens deeply.

Though Phoebe stepped down as interim CEO in 2024, her fingerprints remain all over the Cade Museum’s DNA. The structures she built—physical, curricular, and cultural—continue to guide the institution’s next chapter.

The Cade Museum’s Inventivity curriculum is now being adapted by school districts and libraries across the country. The Cade Prize is attracting national attention from investors and incubators. And most importantly, children are discovering the joy of solving problems with their own two hands.

Phoebe Cade Miles exemplifies how vision, humility, and action can create lasting change. She is not only a steward of a family legacy but a catalyst for a brighter, more inventive future.

At StayGainesville, we’re proud to have hosted her—not just because of her accolades, but because of the way she inspires everyone around her to imagine what’s possible.

If Gainesville is a city that blends history with innovation, then Phoebe Cade Miles is one of its brightest guiding stars.