Our Board
In November 2012, CKC’s Founder, Ms. Kendrick-Hands initiated a symposium entitled “Knitting Heritage Museum: A Work in Progress,” hosted by Dr. Ellsworth Brown, Director of the Wisconsin Historical Society, and funded in part by a $5000 grant from The National Needlework Association’s Yarn Group. An interim, nine-member volunteer Advisory Board created at the symposium to shepherd the Center’s initial phases of development forward has evolved into CKC’s current Board of Directors whose short bios, below, attest to their depth of knowledge and experience in knitting, crochet, development, outreach, volunteer organization, governance, finance, collections, exhibitions, fundraising, and technology. Several founding Board members are still serving on CKC’s Board today, providing organizational continuity. The Board seeks nominations annually from CKC members. If you are interested in learning more about serving on CKC’s Board of Directors, or want to recommend a friend or colleague, please contact us.
Jennifer L. Lindsay, President
Jennifer Lindsay is an independent curator, scholar, arts educator, and community advocate specializing in craft and contemporary textiles. She leads the initiative to develop the Center for Knit and Crochet as a digital entity, merging the interests, expertise, and collections of makers, scholars, and museum professionals. She holds an M.A. in the History of Decorative Arts from the Corcoran College of Art + Design. Her Master’s thesis, Mary Walker Phillips: ‘Creative Knitting’ and The Cranbrook Experience, 2010, documents the emergence of knitting as contemporary art.
Lindsay coordinates exhibitions, collaborative works, and public programs that blend art, science, hands-on activities, and community empowerment for museums, arts organizations, and civic stakeholders. Past projects include The Smithsonian Community Reef, a display made with the work of more than 800 crocheters nationwide for the National Museum of Natural History’s 2010-11 exhibition of the Crochet Coral Reef. Lindsay’s scholarly articles are published in The Textile Society of America’s Biennial Symposium Proceedings, Rowman & Littlefield’s Innovative Approaches in Museums series, and The Journal of Modern Craft. Sixth & Spring Books and Clarkson Potter published her original knitting designs and patterns in 2003-2007.
Rebecca J. Keyel, Vice President
Rebecca J. Keyel is a Design and Textile Historian and a Folklorist. She holds a PhD in Human Ecology (Design Studies) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an MS in Human Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a BA from Wellesley College. Her dissertation project, “Defense Knitting: Women’s Volunteerism During the First and Second World Wars” examined American women’s hand knitting for servicemen during the First and Second World Wars and its relationship with labor, patriotism, and the zeitgeist of the homefront through archival research and reconstruction knitting. Her research interests include material culture, textile and knitting history, folklore, and home craft. She is the author of a recent book chapter on Red Cross knitting patterns titled “Knitting Instructions: Red Cross Production Patterns, 1917-1965.”
Maggie Phalen, Secretary
Maggie Phalen started knitting in 2003 and crocheting in 2016. She occasionally dabbles in other fiber arts, but knitting remains her primary creative outlet. She comes by her love of yarn
honestly: her mom, great-aunt, and great-grandmother are/were avid knitters and crocheters. This cross-generational connection sparked an ongoing interest in, and appreciation for, textile history. When not knitting, Maggie enjoys reading, exploring historic sites, and has recently begun fencing épée.
Maggie has been working in the GLAM field since 2010. She is currently a public librarian in Northern Virginia, and has previously worked at libraries, archives and museums in Boston and Washington DC. She is interested in the ways in which people and communities interact with history, and is passionate about preserving cultural heritage for future generations.
Marilyn J. Huset, Treasurer
Marilyn Huset is an ardent knitter and a member of the Madison (Wisconsin) Knitters’ Guild (the largest in the U.S.). She holds a B.S. in accounting and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). She retired from TDS Telecom as Manager of Financial Communications, where she was previously Manager of Policies and Procedures and Manager of Accounting. At TDS Telecom, with newly acquired companies, and as national president of the American Woman’s Society of CPAs (AWSCPA, www.awscpa.org) she oversaw and revamped management structures, managed corporate records, annual meetings and board actions, and revised bylaws. She also co-authored a book on the 75-year history of the AWSCPA. She served on the American Institute of CPAs’ Work/Life and Women’s Initiatives Executive Committee and co-edited the book Promoting Your Talent: A Guidebook for Women and Their Firms by Nancy Baldiga. She is active in civic organizations and served as a treasurer for her church during two reorganizations, creating internal controls and a new church constitution.
CKC Board Members (in alphabetical order):
Gillian Hepola
Gillian Hepola (she/her) — Gillian is from the Pacific Northwest of the US. She learned to knit and crochet at a very young age from some of the wonderful women in her life. After leaving her fiber arts dormant for some time, Gillian resumed knitting in 2019 and has not looked back! She shares her knitting projects on Instagram and Ravelry (@gilliandknit), test knits for many designers, and is a member of the Loose Ends Project.
Gillian also brings over a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector to CKC and is looking forward to helping CKC grow and develop. Gillian is CKC’s new Social Media Chair. She will focus initially on developing CKC’s social media reach and fundraising capacity, and then on building a volunteer program for CKC.
Kerry Kaleba
Kerry Kaleba began her fiber journey as an overly enthusiastic Girl Scout and has been knitting for 30 years. Along the way she has dabbled in weaving, sewing, and all kinds of textile crafts. She shares her love of knitting as an instructor, and enjoys helping new knitters imagine their next project.
An arts advocate and culture worker, Kerry is thrilled to join the Board of CKC and share her love of the craft as well as her experience in grants administration and arts management. She can be found on Instagram and most social media as @kerrabecca
Callie Lasch
Callie Lasch is a Producer, Director, and Writer of public interest media. For over 20 years, Lasch has advocated for a greater appreciation of the value of the arts, including a focus on raising the profile of knitting and crochet.
Callie is also the Founder and Co-Director of The Institute for Therapeutic Craft & Creativity an online educational resource which produces talks, workshops, and videos about the power of creative making and engaging the hand-brain connection as a transformative tool for learning, cognitive development, and healing.
Additionally, Callie develops and facilitates public and private experiential programs for museums, galleries, and other arts organizations. Programs involve collaborative activities designed to expand innovative and solution-oriented thinking, and include professional development initiatives for corporate executives, school administrators, artists, scientists, engineers, veterans, students, and communities seeking to understand that the creative process is much more than a skill, but a way of operating.
Connie Martin-Wilson
Connie Martin-Wilson is an IaaS Integration Program Director for IBM in Lowell, MA. She started her career in Electrical Engineering Computer Aided Design, and then worked in software development as a developer, manager, project manager, program manager, and as a Project Management Office Director in mergers and acquisitions. Today, she runs and manages complex projects and programs in the cloud services industry sector.
In her spare time, Connie is an avid rhythm roller skater, avid traveler, and veteran cruiser. In addition to joining the CKC Board to help CKC further develop its website and digital capabilities, Connie also volunteers for Black Girls Code, and founded a Quantum Mechanics Community of Interest at IBM.
She taught knitting and crochet at Michael’s Craft Stores. She volunteers as a teacher in an ESOL program for a local community organization, and organizes and facilitates a Bible study group that includes international students. She also serves on the Board of Youthful Impact, an organization that helps urban youth get the training they need to get high-paying entry-level jobs in IT.
Elizabeth Okeyele-Olatunji
Elizabeth Okeyele-Olatunji (she/her) started Tunnizze Creation to pass on the skills of knitting and crochet to thousands of school-age children. Elizabeth likes to say “If you can think it, you can create it.” She is a passionate advocate for knitting and crochet as an activity that can inspire creativity and imagination and enhance self-determination in children and adults. She truly believes that learning never ends!
Elizabeth has a degree in textile technology from Yaba College of Technology in Lagos, Nigeria, Craft Yarn Council of America Level I and II Certificates in Knitting Instruction, and a mini-MBA from Tekedia Institute, Boston, MA. She also recently received a professional diploma in Education. Elizabeth won the Craft Industry Alliance’s Golden Scissors Emerging Leader Award in 2024. She loves to read and knit. She is a mum to two amazing boys, and loves to garden in her spare time.
Elizabeth is CKC’s new Membership Chair and Membership Coordinator, and we look forward to her energetic and positive approach to developing and expanding CKC’s membership program and activities.
Suzann Thompson
Like many elementary school students, Suzann Thompson learned about American tall tales. Already a confirmed knitter, Suzann was thrilled when her teacher told the class that tall tales were also called yarns. Learning to crochet was to come later, and her first foray into the professional needlework world began when she crocheted and sold granny square drawstring purses during junior high school. She decided against mass production as a career. Years later, she designed knitting, crochet, and craft projects for publication in magazines and books. Eventually she authored Crochet Bouquet: Easy Designs for Dozens of Flowers, Crochet Garden: Bunches of Flowers, Leaves, and Other Delights, and Cute Crochet World: A Little Dictionary of Crocheted Critters, Folks, Food, & More, all published by Lark.
Seeking a way to make knitted wall art, Suzann developed her signature TextileFusion technique, incorporating knitting, crochet, quilting, and embellishment. In 2016, she created the Celebrate Doilies exhibit, which features her doily-inspired TextileFusion art, works by Texan poet Sandi Horton, and doily heritage in the form of stories and photos from doily makers of the past and present. Celebrate Doilies travels to various locations around Texas and, Suzann hopes, beyond. Currently, she is planning and seeking funding for another exhibit, in which her textile art anchors an exploration of electrical technology and its impact on human and natural environments, and will include personal stories and artistic contributions from rural communities.
Suzann blogs at www.textilefusion.com/blog, where she will be spreading the word about CKC’s Digital Repository, online exhibitions, nomenclature project, and more.
Lori Winterfeldt
Lori Winterfeldt is an avid knitter who dabbles in other fiber arts, including needlepoint and crochet. Over the past 30 years, Lori has worked in the areas of healthcare, librarianship, marketing, and public relations for government, private, and nonprofit organizations based in New York. Lori holds Masters’ degrees in Library Science from City University of New York at Queens College, and in Health Administration from Hofstra University. She has a B.A. in Rhetoric & Literature from State University of New York, Binghamton. Lori is active in her local synagogue, and runs a notable book club. When not knitting or reading, Lori spends time with her husband, Walter, and their two chihuahuas.
CKC Board Emeriti:
Karen D. Kendrick-Hands, Founder
Karen Kendrick-Hands is an attorney, community activist and lifelong, obsessive knitter: artisan, published designer, retailer and educational consultant. Inspired in part by quilt collections and study centers, and spurred by the limited access to knitting and crochet in existing museum and research settings, she is leading the effort to develop the Center for Knit and Crochet, Inc., as a knitting heritage museum and resource to collect, preserve, document and share knitted and crocheted objects and their cultural significance.