Inspired by her professional life in the city of Buffalo, Dawne Hoeg founded Stitch Buffalo in 2014. A creative at heart, Dawne has always loved the textile arts and has centered her career around this discipline. She taught in the Textile and Fiber Arts Design Department at Buffalo State College and served as the handwork teacher at the Aurora Waldorf School. In 2019, The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo selected her as a finalist in the Up and Comer category for their prestigious Centennial Awards, honoring change makers in our community.

Michelle Perkins is a textile artist and community organizer with a background in project management, marketing, and instructional design. She serves on the planning committee for Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts, as a board member for Stronger Together WNY, and is a lifelong textile artist. She has a passion for the roles of creativity, sustainability, and communication in building safe, equitable communities.

Linda Crist is a graduate of Marketing and Business Administration at SUNY Fredonia, and comes to Stitch Buffalo from SHECAN! (501c3), where she served as the Director of Membership Development and Operations. Linda has a long tenure in sales, management, and operations for non-profit growth. She describes herself as a heart-centered community and network builder.

Dakota Follis-Ziarko brings over ten years of retail and merchandising experience to her role as manager of Stitch Buffalo’s retail and wholesale operations. She is an experienced stylist as well as a seamstress and sustainable fashion advocate. At Stitch Buffalo, Dakota looks forward to combining her passion for the arts and her love of community.

Whitney Crispell is a textile artist and owner of Local Color, a quilting studio founded in 2017. She also comes to Stitch Buffalo with a background in program management, government relations, and community organizing. Whitney is passionate about Stitch Buffalo's mission, and thrilled to play a role in making secondhand textile and fiber arts supplies affordable and accessible to the larger community.

Hannah Quaintance is an anthropologist and artist with an interest in the ways that collective memories are passed down through textile traditions. She has been involved with Stitch Buffalo since 2021 as a volunteer and teaching artist and has deeply appreciated being a part of the organization’s creative community. With diverse experience in nonprofits, education, and museum-based project management, Hannah looks forward to helping support Stitch Buffalo’s growing studio programs.