Our Team
Amy Loch
Executive Director
Amy Loch currently serves as Executive Director of the Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum. With over 20 years of experience in the museum field, she excels at helping institutions prepare for their next chapter by expanding outreach, increasing attendance, and strengthening financial stability.
Since joining SQTM in May 2023, Loch has continued her track record of growth-focused leadership. Previously, she served as Director of the Wyandotte County Museum in Kansas, where she enhanced the museum’s visibility through virtual engagement, local history exhibits, and community programming. As Director of the Stillwater History Museum and Cultural Center in Oklahoma, she led the institution to record attendance through innovative programming, dynamic exhibits, and expanded marketing efforts. Earlier in her career, she curated exhibits, coordinated volunteers, and managed major events at the Old Cowtown Museum in Kansas, and served as Registrar at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in Maryland.
Loch holds an M.A. in Public History from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in History with a minor in Business. She has served on numerous community boards and was Treasurer of the Mountain-Plains Museums Association.
A creative at heart, Loch has explored many artistic mediums—from mosaics and painting to now quilting. She also serves as the coordinator of the 4-H Garden Club as a Carroll County Master Gardener.
She lives in Carrollton with her dog, four cats, and husband, Dr. Mark Janzen, Director of the Center for Public History and Museum Studies Coordinator at the University of West Georgia.
Kaylie Callahan
Visitor Assistant
Kaylie is our part time Visitor Assistant and has 8 years of administrative experience working in the nonprofit world. As our Visitor Assistant, she helps our Executive Director manage daily museum operations. You’ll find her greeting guests, maintaining our membership database, and managing the museum’s social media and e-news content.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Non-Profit Administration from Kennesaw State University. Prior to joining SQTM in May 2024, Kaylie served as an Administrative Assistant at two other nonprofits in the human services field that served and advocated for child abuse victims.
Kaylie and her husband, Sean, live in neighboring Heard County. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, travelling, and spending time with her family.
Emma Petras
2025 Fall Intern
Emma Petras is currently participating in an internship at the Southeastern Quilt and Textile Museum. She is in her final year as an undergraduate student at the University of West Georgia pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art with a concentration in sculpture. Emma is enthusiastic about community-based organizations, and plans to continue working in museums after graduation.
As the President of Art Student Union at the University of West Georgia, Emma actively participates in community engagement across various degrees. She is passionate about creating unqiue ways to engage communities with the arts and establishing meaningful connections.
Prior to interning at the SQTM, Emma participated in a Student Research Assistant Program (SRAP) as a gallery assistant to explore innovative exhibit design and curation within the galleries at the University of West Georgia. In additon to working with the SQTM, Emma works at the Antonio J. Waring Center for Public Archaeology. There, she directs an educational outreach project dedicated to creating free stop-motion animation resources for PK-12 students to learn about archaeology.
Emma’s sculpture practice includes woodworking, metal casting, masonry, jewelry-making, screen-printing and sewing. She has presented her reasearch on domestic architecture and home as a conceptual space at the University of West Georgia, and continues to explore these themes in her artwork.