Meet Quiet Champion Katherine Willis

Dear Friends of the Foundation,

Over the past year, we’ve invited you behind the scenes at the Sandler Center Foundation—through stories like Pulling Back the Curtain and Giving Tuesday’s Impact—to show how your support fuels our mission. Now, as we enter the season of giving, we want to shift the spotlight to the unsung heroes who make it all possible. The ones who show up quietly, consistently, and wholeheartedly. We call them our Quiet Champions.

This season, we invite you to become one of them. Join us in our programs, attend our performances, and walk alongside us—whether in spirit or with a bold gift that helps us go further. Give boldly. Give with conviction. Give because the arts deserve champions like you.

Katherine "Kay" Remick and Lucy Clay.



Recently, our team sat down with longtime champion Katherine Willis, whose family roots stretch deep into Smithfield and Isle of Wight. From those roots grew a love of the arts that blossomed across Hampton Roads and found a home at the Sandler Center Foundation.

Katherine’s grandparents, Howard and Katherine Gwaltney, believed in the power of the arts to elevate and connect communities. They established a foundation to enrich the lives of children in their hometown—seeking partners who shared their values of access, education, and joy. Their daughters, Lucy Gwaltney Clay and Katherine Gwaltney Remick, serve as trustees of the Howard W. and Katherine L. Gwaltney Foundation. They wanted to continue the legacy their parents started. They instilled this same love of the arts in future generations.

When considering who could bring arts and education to Smithfield, our champion Katherine Willis, Lucy Gwaltney Clay’s daughter and longtime SCF Board member, brought SCF into the conversation—a connection was made. SCF was the perfect intersection to ensure the Gwaltney family’s vision: bridging the performing arts and community needs to create a lasting impact.

Smithfield's main street with their arts center in the background.

Katherine chooses to multiply her impact by giving to an organization (SCF!) that covers 100% of administrative costs, so every dollar she directs supports programs and people—no overhead taken from donations. She also leverages Neighborhood Assistance Program (NAP) tax credits, which make her gift both a powerful philanthropic statement and a smart tax strategy. By combining fully covered administration with NAP credits, donors like Katherine and the Gwaltney family help sustain transformative arts education and keep the region’s arts vibrant.

Learn more about NAP Credits HERE.

Alright, let’s go back to the beginning—Katherine’s beginning.

“I grew up in the country in Smithfield, Virginia, and there wasn’t a lot to do. My mom put me in ballet class, and this group came to town and taught in the basement of the church. That’s where I first found the arts,” she shared.

That spark of dance lit a path that would eventually lead Katherine to help build the Sandler Center Foundation from the ground up.

“We were focused on bringing high-quality artists to the Sandler Center—and that was really fun,” she said. “The goal has always been to reach as many people as possible and expose them to the arts. We’ve evolved, but the heart of it remains the same.”

That heart beats because of people like Katherine—and people like you.

As you consider your year-end giving, we ask you to remember the transformative power of the arts. SCF is here, just as Katherine and her family have been—quietly championing creativity, connection, and community.

We are deeply grateful to the Howard W. and Katherine L. Gwaltney Foundation for their generous gift this year, made possible by Lucy Clay and her sister Katherine Gwaltney Remick. They have already made a meaningful difference.

The work has already begun to make the most of the Gwaltney family’s gift with an upcoming live performance at Smithfield’s Market at the Manor on December 6th. From 11:00AM-1:00PM, our friends at Brasswind are lending their musical talents to ring in the holiday season during the day-long event. We are so proud to collaborate on this wonderful, family-friendly tradition in Smithfield.

Now it’s your turn. Be the spark. Be the story. Be a Quiet Champion.  Give boldly today—and help us keep the arts thriving for generations to come.

With gratitude,
The Sandler Center Foundation Team