Phil and Bruce participating in the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K.
Phil Whiteway, Co-founder & Principal
Phil Whiteway is a key leader in Virginia's nonprofit arts management community. He, along with Bruce Miller, co-founded Theatre IV in 1975 as Virginia's first professional theatre for young audiences. In 2001, he assumed the role of Managing Director of Barksdale Theatre via a memorandum of understanding under which both organizations remained separate producing entities but shared an artistic and administrative staff. In 2012, Phil and Bruce led the formal merger of Theatre IV and Barksdale Theatre to become Virginia Repertory Theatre.
Under his management, these companies received the first Excellence in Instruction Award from the Virginia Board of Education, the Dominion Shining Star Award from Virginians for the Arts, and the 50 for 50 Arts Inspiration Award from the Virginia Commission for the arts, among many others.
Phil was a founding member of the boards of the Richmond Arts Consortium and the Broad Street Association. Under his leadership, Theatre IV purchased and renovated the historic November Theatre (formerly the Empire Theatre), receiving the Community Builders Award from the Central Richmond Association for its contribution to downtown revitalization.
Phil is a graduate of the University of Richmond and a graduate and past board member of Leadership Metro Richmond. He has served on the Governance Board of Partners in the Arts and as treasurer of Virginians for the Arts. Phil has received the Voice of the University Award from his alma mater, the Theresa Pollak "Lifetime Achievement Award" from Richmond Magazine, and the Governor's Award for the Arts from former Gov. Tim Kaine. Phil was included by Style Weekly among the "100 Most Influential Richmonders of the 20th Century."
Emily speaking at a donor dedication and naming event. (Photo by Jay Paul)
Emily J. Cole-Jones, Senior Consultant
Emily Cole-Jones has spent nearly 25 years raising millions of dollars for nonprofit organizations both in the RVA community and in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul. She combines her passion for nonprofits, advocacy, and philanthropy with her talents in the visual and performing arts.
Emily has spent over 15 years working specifically in nonprofit arts administration, leading individual giving, government and foundation grant writing, and corporate sponsorship efforts in various roles for The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Stages Theatre Company, and most recently, Virginia Repertory Theatre, where she successfully led efforts to raise $5.28 million in just 15 months for the acquisition of the theatre's new facility on Hermitage Road in Richmond. For six years, she served as a senior consultant with Fox Advancement, a national fundraising consulting firm, where she worked on capital campaigns supporting a range of projects – from healthcare centers to supportive housing to performing arts venues – as well as led the build-out of the firm's grant writing business line. Two of her grant clients at Fox received multi-million dollar grants from MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving foundation.
Emily is an active member of the National Grant Professionals Association and contributes as a frequent grant reviewer, recently serving on the review panel for the Virginia Commission for the Arts. Her dedication to service extends to nonprofit boards, having served as a member of the boards of Beyond the Barriers Minnesota and the Minnesota Sinfonia, where she was Corporate Secretary. Currently, Emily serves on the board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals – Central Virginia Chapter. She is an award-winning visual artist (emilyjcole.com), as well as a musician and actor.
Bruce and Phil in the early days of Theatre IV, which merged with Barksdale Theatre in 2012 to become Virginia Rep. (Photo by Eric Dobbs)
Bruce Miller, Co-Founder & Principal
Bruce Miller has worked at the forefront of Virginia professional theatre since 1975. With Phil Whiteway, he co-founded Theatre IV as Virginia’s first professional children’s theatre, and served as Founding Artistic Director from 1975 until 2012. In 2001, Theatre IV began strategic collaboration with Barksdale Theatre, with Bruce serving as Artistic Director of Barksdale from 2001 until 2012. In 2012, Theatre IV and Barksdale merged to form Virginia Repertory Theatre, with Bruce serving as Founding Artistic Director from 2012 until 2016. Bruce transitioned to the senior advisory position of Co-Founder in 2016, serving in that role until 2023. For 15 months during 2019 and 20, Bruce served as Executive Director of the Perkinson Center for the Arts in Chesterfield County, overseeing all construction from ground breaking through project completion.
Bruce has authored 46 plays for young audiences, including Hugs and Kisses, which will celebrate its 41st year as Virginia’s principal child sexual abuse prevention/early intervention program this fall, and Buffalo Soldier, which was the first play in U.S. history to be presented professionally inside the Pentagon, as a morale booster after 9/11. In recognition of his work, Bruce has received: • Virginia’s Governor’s Award for the Arts presented by Gov. Tim Kaine,• the Commissioner’s Award from the U. S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, • the first Excellence in Instruction Award from the Virginia Board of Education, • the Voice of the University Award from the University of Richmond,• the Together for Children Award from the Virginia Federation of Woman’s Clubs,• the Certificate of Excellence from Richmond’s 15th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, • the Teresa Pollack Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts, and• the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Virginia Theatre Association. In 2000, STYLE Weekly named Bruce one of the 100 Most Influential Richmonders of the 20th Century. Today, Bruce works with his longtime partner, Phil Whiteway, as a principal with Whiteway Miller and Associates, LLC, an arts and education consultancy. He also is a founding partner of ATLAS Partnership, a nonprofit producing organization. Current projects include the statewide tour of Walking the Line (opioid misuse prevention/early intervention) and Gabriel, the Musical, the new musical by Foster Solomon, Jerold Solomon and Ron Klipp. Bruce is married to artist and set designer Terrie Powers. They’re proud parents of two adult children, pastor Hannah Miller and Broadway sound engineer Curt Miller.
Bruce has authored 46 plays for young audiences, including Hugs and Kisses, which will celebrate its 41st year as Virginia’s principal child sexual abuse prevention/early intervention program this fall, and Buffalo Soldier, which was the first play in U.S. history to be presented professionally inside the Pentagon, as a morale booster after 9/11. In recognition of his work, Bruce has received: • Virginia’s Governor’s Award for the Arts presented by Gov. Tim Kaine,• the Commissioner’s Award from the U. S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, • the first Excellence in Instruction Award from the Virginia Board of Education, • the Voice of the University Award from the University of Richmond,• the Together for Children Award from the Virginia Federation of Woman’s Clubs,• the Certificate of Excellence from Richmond’s 15th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, • the Teresa Pollack Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts, and• the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Virginia Theatre Association. In 2000, STYLE Weekly named Bruce one of the 100 Most Influential Richmonders of the 20th Century. Today, Bruce works with his longtime partner, Phil Whiteway, as a principal with Whiteway Miller and Associates, LLC, an arts and education consultancy. He also is a founding partner of ATLAS Partnership, a nonprofit producing organization. Current projects include the statewide tour of Walking the Line (opioid misuse prevention/early intervention) and Gabriel, the Musical, the new musical by Foster Solomon, Jerold Solomon and Ron Klipp. Bruce is married to artist and set designer Terrie Powers. They’re proud parents of two adult children, pastor Hannah Miller and Broadway sound engineer Curt Miller.
Attorney Duane Deskevich of lawfirm Deskevich, Gavin & Harris, PC
Duane A. Deskevich, Outside Counsel
Duane A. Deskevich practices in corporate/business law, real estate, estate planning and probate, energy, and equine law in Richmond, Virginia. He often serves as outside general counsel to closely-held business clients. He advises clients with regard to corporate and business governance matters, as well as handling transactional needs including all facets of asset purchases/sales, ownership transfers, and mergers and acquisition. Mr. Deskevich has extensive experience with structuring and settlement of commercial and residential loan transactions and manages a high-volume residential real estate closing practice and affiliated title insurance services company. He also represents alternative energy developers with real estate matters and facility development transactions. In addition to his law practice, Mr. Deskevich serves as an advisor, consultant, and coordinator to a collaboration of professionals who serve discreet high net worth/high profile clients and their unique interests. He is admitted to the practice of law in the Commonwealths of Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well as the District of Columbia. Mr. Deskevich graduated from The American University, Washington D.C., with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Law and Justice. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Richmond School of Law.