Petrina Jones ’93
Virginians for the Arts (VFTA) announced earlier this month that Petrina L. Jones will serve as their new Executive Director.
“Petrina has a wealth of knowledge and experience, and is uniquely suited to lead Virginians for the Arts in engaging Virginians in a united advocacy effort to protect and increase support for the arts as our mission calls for” Chairman Butch Davies stated.
Before being named the Executive Director of Virginians for the Arts in January 2015, Petrina Jones worked at the lobbying firm, The Vectre Corporation in Richmond, Virginia. For nineteen years, she built her extensive statewide relationships while lobbying members of the Virginia General Assembly and the Executive Branch representing a broad spectrum of businesses and industries.
She developed and implemented grass tops and grassroots strategies for a number of projects on the federal, state and local levels. Jones successfully fought to protect her clients’ interests during the budget process and monitored pending legislative and regulatory issues before the General Assembly, Commonwealth Transportation Board, Coal and Energy Commission and the Board of Education.
A graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory of Shenandoah University, Jones received a Bachelor of Fine Arts – Music Theatre degree in 1993. Jones was named the 1997 recipient of the university’s Outstanding Young Alumni Achievement Award for her work as an actress. After touring the United States as a title role actress of a nationally acclaimed theatre company, Virginia Repertory Theatre, Jones performed in a statewide educational tour co-produced by Prevent Child Abuse Virginia, the Virginia Department of Social Services and Theatre IV America.
For the past seven years she has trained and led a group of six actors who assist the Child Advocacy Centers of Virginia in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice with a conference called ChildFirst Virginia-an instructional program for law enforcement officers, attorneys and social workers that interact with traumatized children. Jones served on the Board of Directors of CultureWorks (formerly the Arts Council of Richmond). She participated in Governor Warner’s Partnership for Achieving Successful Schools by mentoring at Clark Springs Elementary in Richmond.
