Board of Directors

Lea Peacock is a lifetime member of EGA, joining Colorado’s Pikes Peak Chapter in 1985. She served as the founding president of the Tip of Texas Chapter in 1995. She has held many positions in both her chapter and the South Central Region.

On the national level, Peacock served as chair of the 2008 Through the Needle’s Eye (TNE) and currently serves as faculty chair for Needlework Faire Seminar 2025. She designed and donated a needlepoint piece, Charmed Heart, to EGA for a fund raiser benefitting the American Heart Association. During her tenure on the national board, she developed and implemented the My EGA (MEGA) giving program, raising more than $40,000 for EGA.

Peacock has also served as president of her local Rotary Club; Ronald McDonald House of the Rio Grande Valley; and Friends of the Laguna Vista Library. She is active in her community and church.

Peacock retired after serving 23 years as the CEO of the Girl Scouts of Greater South Texas. During that time, the council grew from four to 24 counties and membership increased to more than 18,000 girls and adults. She managed five service centers, two camps, and 30 staff. She was responsible for the long-range planning, financial oversight of the council, fundraising, and implementation of the Girl Scout program.

Peacock holds certificates in non-profit management from Wharton Business School, Texas A&M, and Case Western Reserve University. In addition, she studied business at Southwest Texas State University, University of Houston, and University of Colorado. She lives in South Texas with her husband, Bill. Together, they have five adult children and nine grandchildren.

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After Trudy Pohawpatchoko joined the Kansas City, KS-based Santa Fe Trail Chapter in Heartland Region in 1992, she volunteered to fill the empty secretary position on the board.

After moving to Colorado in 1994, she immediately connected with Rocky Mountain Region’s (RMR’s) Colorado Chapter and attended the Saturday Group, eventually rotating in as the program chair.

At the region level, Pohawpatchoko was the faculty chair for the 2015 Inaugural Region Retreat. Being a volunteer, she again stepped into an empty position, assistant region director, in 2016, and moved in as region director on the next election in 2019.

During the pandemic, Pohawpatchoko led the region in using new technology for virtual board meetings, and organized Zoom subscriptions for multiple chapters to keep the membership connected. She also conducted “Trudy Talks” to interview teachers across the country and organized “RMR Road Trips” to virtually tour needlework shops in the region. She is currently serving as the region nominating chair.

At the national level, Pohawpatchoko served on both the 2012 National Seminar Committee and the 2018 National Seminar Committee as the signs/certificates chair. She fulfilled her responsibilities as RMR region director, with three years on the national board (2019-2021).

She is currently the assistant chair and juror chair on the 22nd Through The Needle’s Eye Committee and is a member of the National Nominating Committee.

Pohawpatchoko holds a bachelor of science degree in business/computer science from Southern Nazarene University, Bethany, OK, and a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) and computer resource management from Webster University, Webster Groves, MO. She has earned Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI), and Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications. With 20 years of project management experience, she is currently a program manager at Cognizant. She manages software upgrades and implementations for healthcare clients, diverse resource teams, budgets that range from $50,000 to $20 million, and the coordination of delivery schedules.

When not stitching, she has rung English handbells for 30-plus years, starting in Kansas City. She joined Rocky Mountain Ringers (1996-2006) after moving to Colorado, which led to directing the handbell choir at her church (2001-2023) and attending several International Handbell Symposiums. She currently rings with Denver Bronze (2007-2023), an auditioned handbell ensemble.

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Christene Thurston has been a member of EGA for over 20 years. Since childhood, she has been sewing, embroidering, knitting, and crocheting. She has held various board positions within the New York Capital District Chapter and is currently serving her second term as the Metropolitan Region secretary. At the national level, Thurston was the assistant registrar for the 2022 National Seminar, Broadway Bound, and currently serves on a national seminar discussion panel with other registrars.

Thurston has served on executive committees with many boards in her community, where her commitment to their mission statements helped bring their long-range goals to fruition. In 2020, she retired from a career of more than 34 years in business management.

Thurston is passionate about traditional Japanese embroidery and has begun Phase X studies toward her certification. She lives in upstate New York with her husband, Bruce, and their kitty, Sweetiekillmouskie.

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Sherri Hagar has been active in EGA for over 20 years and is currently a member of the Fort Worth Chapter. She has served in many chapter officer positions, including president and treasurer. At the region level, Hagar served as treasurer for the South Central Region (SCR); she is currently serving as treasurer for SCR Seminar 2025.

Hagar attended the University of Texas at Arlington and is a certified public accountant (CPA). She spent 19 years at a CPA firm in tax and accounting. During that time, Hagar worked with several nonprofit organizations, as well as commercial corporations. In addition to stitching, Hagar enjoys reading and motorcycling. She lives in Arlington, TX, with her husband, Bob, and their cat, Gracie.

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Vicki Swerdlow was introduced to EGA through a Southern Maine (SOME) Chapter exhibit in 1998. She was entranced and asked her mother (who taught her to embroider) for a gift membership. As a mother of three children who also worked full-time, Swerdlow’s active involvement with EGA was limited, but she served as SOME’s treasurer and/or auditor from 2002 until her retirement in 2018.

With her time freed up, she was then able to take on more leadership roles with SOME chapter, finally rising to the position of co-president in 2021. On the region level, Swerdlow sits on the New England Region (NER) board as website manager.

It was through the “Securing Our Future” efforts that Swerdlow became actively involved in EGA at the national level. She has worked on the Membership & Marketing initiatives, focusing on technology. Through this work, she became acutely aware of the importance of accurate and accessible policies and procedures to support the EGA organization at all levels.
Swerdlow completed her bachelor of arts degree in anthropology at Harvard and her MBA in nonprofit management at Yale.

Professionally, she worked at museums, libraries, and social agencies, and retired from the United Way of York County as director of administration and finance. She is actively involved in her hometown of Falmouth, ME, and currently sits on the boards of four community organizations outside of EGA.

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Deb Berger joined EGA in 1998 as a member at-large. When she moved to Georgia in 2015, she became a member of the Dogwood Chapter, one of the larger chapters in the Tennessee Valley Region. She immediately volunteered to serve the chapter and has held the positions of president and VP of programs for two terms each. At a national level, she is currently serving as dean of faculty for EGA National Seminar 2024 and previously served as committee chair for the Secure Our Future EGA National Events Team.

As a retail store owner of The Stampin’ Post, 2003-2015, and subsequent online store of A Needleworker’s Shoppe, 2015-present, Berger is well versed in understanding the wants and needs of needle art patrons. She has a proven track record of leadership, team development, customer service and assistance, customer satisfaction, and communication. She shares her love of needle art with others through teaching, mentoring, and coordinating opportunities for others to experience this diverse discipline.

Berger holds a degree in business administration and management, as well as a variety of leadership certifications. She has served on other needlework and craft-oriented boards, including the Craft & Hobby Association and The National Needlework Association (TNNA). These organizations have presented her various awards for her outstanding service to their communities. Berger is passionate about EGA and its mission statement focusing on education. She has a strong desire to promote all forms of needlework to help ensure EGA’s future.

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Ina Gibson learned of EGA at one of the commercial stitching events in the early 1990s. After her first meeting she joined the Muchas Manos de San Diego (CA) Chapter and spent many years with those lovely ladies. She has held most chapter officer positions, made great friendships, and enjoyed many learning opportunities. Gibson is currently a member of the Escondido, CA-based Threaded Needle Chapter and is serving as VP of programs. She also worked to support her region holding positions of secretary, assistant director, and region director.

Gibson is the mother of three grown sons, for whom she spent years volunteering in schools and in other youth activities, including Scoutmaster of a Boy Scout Troop and leading boys at three National Jamborees. She is a member of the California State Bar but found more job satisfaction as a librarian in public libraries. Recently retired after 16 years in the library, she is now indulging in her passion for needlework, reading, volunteering, and spending time with her granddaughter.

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