Staff & Leadership

Executive Director

John McEwen has served as the Executive Director of New Jersey Theatre Alliance since 2001.

Prior to the Alliance, John served as Vice President for Development of the New Jersey Network Foundation where he was responsible for providing the leadership for an annual fund goal of more than $7 million in support of NJN Public Television and Radio’s programs and services. Prior to joining NJN, John served as the Director of Development for Paper Mill Playhouse where he oversaw all fundraising activities, long-range planning, and board development.  John provided the leadership for Paper Mill’s successful $10 million capital campaign.

In 1992, McEwen developed the Cultural Access Network Project, a project of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and New Jersey Theatre Alliance, for which he received the inaugural Leadership Award in Access from The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. John serves as a trustee of ArtPride NJ andFund for the New Jersey Blind. John has served as an adjunct professor in arts management at Seton Hall University, Drew University, and New York University.

John has consulted numerous organizations on board development, long-range planning, fundraising, and cultural access. He received a BA from Montclair State University and an MA from New York University.

John is a graduate of Leadership/New Jersey and was selected as one of 50 nonprofit arts leaders to participate in the Executive Program for Nonprofit Arts Leaders at Stanford University, a partnership of Stanford and National Arts Strategies.

When John is not attending the theatre, he enjoys cooking, collecting glass art, and anything to do with the water—boating, sun bathing, swimming.

Development and Communications Director

As a youngster, Deb loved to create mini theatre productions in her basement as stage manager for her siblings. In ninth grade, she performed the role of a little girl with a perpetual cold in The Playground. Now a seasoned event planner, Deb has created top tier special events for the nonprofit sector at venues in Manhattan, Indiana, Las Vegas and New Jersey with performers like Huey Lewis & the News, Bebe Neuwirth, the Bacon Brothers, and Kool & the Gang. The fundraisers and giving programs she managed saw increases in participation year after year. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Event Planners Association.

Deb graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in Journalism following in her father’s print publishing footsteps. She started out as a correspondent for The Home News Tribune in New Brunswick and wrote copy for Avon Products in NYC for six years. In 1997, she won a CAPE award for co-scriptwriting a docudrama produced for a local cable TV station and on weekends freelanced as a room manager with Junket Productions’ celebrity press interviews. Deb continues to write short plays and scripts as a hobby while occasionally accepting feature writing assignments for the Diocese of Metuchen bi-weekly newspaper.

A sports enthusiast, her role as membership chair for the Rutgers Touchdown Club allows her access to informative meetings with the coaches and other Scarlet Knight fans. Deb also enjoys biking, swimming, the theatre, movies, golf, photography, sushi and watching football games with husband Howard.

Marketing and Communications Assistant 

Deonté Griffin-Quick, a native of New Jersey is an actor, singer, and arts administrator who is committed to the advancement and diversity of American Theatre. Deonté joined the NJTA team as an intern in December of 2016 and was enthused to continue his work with the Alliance as the Marketing and Communications Assistant. 

Deonté has been afforded the opportunity to complete internships in various positions with several NJ theatres including New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch and Premiere Stages in Union. In March of 2018, Deonté served as a grant review panelist for Alternate ROOTS (Atlanta,GA) to peer review applications for Partners in Action, a program that fosters and funds social justice partnerships with progressive activist artists from all artistic disciplines in grassroots communities across the U.S. Southern Region. And he also currently serves as the State Coordinator of New Jersey Poetry Out Loud, working with New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Writer's Theatre of New Jersey.

Deonté holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre with a Communication minor from Kean University and is a candidate for membership of the Actor's Equity Association. As a performer, Deonté has performed at The Prudential Center, Enlow Recital Hall, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, the world renowned Apollo Theater in Harlem, Luna Stage Company, New Jersey Repertory Company, and on Fox 5 Good Day NY.