About The Staff & Board

The MQG Staff

Alissa Haight Carlton

Executive Director
alissa@themodernquiltguild.com

Heather Grant

Director of Marketing & Programming
heather@themodernquiltguild.com

The MQG Board of Directors

Andres Rosales

Andres Rosales

Ventura MQG

I started quilting in May 2012 after falling in love with the modern quilt aesthetic. I'm a founding member of the Ventura MQG and communications coordinator for the MQG's community site.

Andres represents Region 1 on the Board of Directors.

Ventura MQG
Jacquie Gering

Jacquie Gering

Chicago MQG

Since discovering quilting five years ago, Jacquie has become a passionate quilt maker and designer. She is known for her "out of the box" designs and unique style. Her work has been featured in both national and international publications, and she is the co-author of Quilting Modern: Techniques and Projects for Improvisational Quilts. Jacquie is a passionate advocate for modern quilting and brings 30 years of teaching, staff development and leadership experience to the Modern Quilt Guild Board. As co-founder and former president of the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild, she helped build a dynamic, vital guild and her experience in guild structures, membership and programming is an asset to developing the MQG at the national level. She is now a member of the Chicago MQG. Jacquie blogs and shares her quilting knowledge on her popular blog, Tallgrass Prairie Studio and lives in downtown Chicago with her husband and black lab, Bruno.

Chicago MQG
Heather Grant

Heather Grant

Austin MQG

A quilter in her early 20s, Heather stopped quilting until 2005, when she was inspired by the modern quilting movement and made her first modern quilt. Heather is founder and member of the Austin Modern Quilt Guild and author of the popular blog, Modern Day Quilts. She is the Director of Marketing and Programming for The Modern Quilt Guild. You can find her teaching at the Stitch Lab in Austin, Texas. Heather has more than 15 years experience in event planning, creative and marketing project management including experience with non-profit membership based organizations while employed at Texas Electric Cooperatives.

Austin MQG
Kathy Mack

Kathy Mack

Bainbridge Island MQG

Kathy lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington with her two teenage daughters and two cats. She is a member of the Bainbridge Island MQG. Her grandmother taught her to sew as a little girl and she loves it as much today as she did after taking that first stitch. Pink Chalk Studio is her sewing pattern design company where she adds color and artful design to things used everyday. Kathy Mack is the founder and owner of Pink Chalk Fabrics, a five year old growing internet company and was previously a Product Development Manager with PeopleSoft in charge of General Ledger. She is the Treasurer of the Modern Quilt Guild. Kathy is a CPA and received her BS in Business Administration/Accounting from Portland State University. She began her career with Arthur Andersen in 1987. Kathy served as a charter board member with Habitot Children's Museum in Berkeley, California.

Bainbridge Island MQG
Shannon Page

Shannon Page

Dallas MQG

Shannon is a prolific sewist who has won several ribbons for her work. She makes modern quilts, bags and clothes with varying degrees of success. In the hours not consumed by sewing, Shannon works at her dream musum job, makes soap, bikes, runs, bakes and hones other apocalypse skills.

Shannon represents Region 2 on the Board of Directors.

Dallas MQG
Susanne Woods

Susanne Woods

Individual Member

Susanne has been a quilter since college. She has almost 20 years of book publishing experience including initiating the launch of Stash Books for C&T Publishing, leading the creative department at Interweave Books and joining Craftsy as their Category Manager in quilting. Always at the forefront of innovation, she was asked to join the MQG board for her quilting industry knowledge, early identification and support of the Modern Quilting movement, and ability to communicate the goals of the MQG within the context of the quilting industry as a whole. She lives near Boulder, CO with her husband and two young boys. She blogs at beyondthekids.com and tweets at @craftyeditor.

Individual Member
Andrew Joslyn

Andrew Joslyn

Philadelphia MQG

Andrew lives in Philadelphia but also lived for several years in Tokyo. He is an Environmental Engineer but spends his free time quilting and on MQG activities. He was president of the Philadelphia MQG for 3 years and is one of the organizers of the Mid-Atlantic MOD quilting retreat.

Andrew represents Region 3 on the Board of Directors.

Philadelphia MQG
Carole Lyles Shaw

Carole Lyles Shaw

Sarasota MQG

I am a quilter, quilt pattern designer, teacher and writer. I am the co-founder of the Sarasota Modern Quilt Guild and I run the Florida Modern Quilt Retreat. My quilts have been published and exhibited in the U.S. and internationally. Modern quilting inspires me to be free, creative and bold!

Carole represents Region 4 on the Board of Directors.

Sarasota MQG
Jules McMahon

Jules McMahon

Canberra MQG

Jules lives just outside Canberra, Australia on a wildlife reserve with her three spirited daughters and ever-patient Mr. She is a founder and current President of Canberra MQG and injects an international perspective to the MQG Board. Jules learnt to sew as a small child and has been a passionate sewist her whole life. After leaving her professional career in governance, she is now pursuing creative pathways as an improvisational quilter, quilting teacher and aspiring pattern maker.

Jules represents Region 5 on the Board of Directors.

Canberra MQG