Petrina L. Jones Biography
Before being named the Executive Director of Virginians for the Arts in January 2015,
Petrina Jones joined a lobbying firm in 1995, 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 University's Conservatory of Music, 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.