Speaker Bios

Kelly Cardenas, the man with the killer dreads, is a cutting edge hairdresser and owner of the Kelly Cardenas Salon in Chicago and Las Vegas. Kelly is passionate about education. He lives by principles such as "Commitment eliminates option"

Kelly believes in the youth of our industry. The average age of Kelly's leadership team is between 20 - 24. Kelly plans on opening more salons near Paul Mitchell Schools.

Check out his amazing website or follow him on Twitter!

“No one I know does a better job exemplifying the power we, in the beauty industry have, to help others like Sister Bonnie” Lou Starita, Dean Scot Lewis Schools – Paul Mitchell Partner School

15 years ago, when Sister Bonnie Steinlage, a Franciscan Sister of the Poor, heard the Ash Wednesday gospel, “When you pray, wash your face and comb your hair,” she felt called to provide hair care to the poor and homeless. With the permission of her order, Sister Bonnie enrolled in cosmetology school and began providing hair care to the poor. In 1995, she opened a hair salon in Over-the-Rhine where she continues to provide professional hair care to those in need.

Soon after opening the salon, Franciscan Haircuts from the Heart created the Hair Care Voucher Program to serve needy clients throughout the city. Clients can receive a hair care vouchers from a participating school or social service agency and redeem it at a partner salon. Haircuts from the Heart reimburses the salon for their services at no cost to the client or social service agency.

Today, Sr. Bonnie continues her mission to nurture the dignity and self-confidence of our clients by providing hair care to the poor and homeless.

Learning expert, author and school consultant, Susan has more than 23 years expertise, focusing on communication, leadership, curriculum, course planning and learning programs for the entire school team.

Susan has consulted and inspired thousands of school owners, managers, Learning Leaders, Salon and Future Professionals. She is the owner of Inspired Learning, an education development and learning company that serves many high-profile beauty industry companies.

Award-winning hairstylist, author, and premier educator with nearly 47 years in the beauty industry, Yosh Toya’s background reads like a page from cosmetology history. His first job after beauty school was assistant to Vidal Sassoon. As a young stylist, Yosh visited Paris each summer to learn from innovators Jean Louis David, the Harlow Group, and Maniatis, who were not yet known in the United States. Yosh incorporated their techniques into his own signature style and soon became one of the industry’s best known artists and educators. His amazing energy level and his desire to share with industry professionals earned him worldwide recognition, including American Salon’s Hairstylist of the Year award and the North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA) Lifetime Achievement Award.

Since retiring as a multi-salon owner, the energetic 72-year-old has taken on a new goal: visiting 100 beauty schools in the United States and 100 in his native Japan to share his knowledge with the industry’s future professionals. “I had a great life from the beauty industry,” Yosh says. “I’d like to return something before I cannot do any more.”

Yosh has visited several Paul Mitchell Schools on his tour, including Paul Mitchell The School – Costa Mesa, Paul Mitchell The School – Orlando, and three Paul Mitchell Partner Schools: the Ohio Academy, Hair, and the Lab. In his two-and-a-half-hour presentations, he demonstrates his legendary technical skills and eagerly shares his tips, techniques, and philosophies with the Future Professionals. Yosh believes, “Our future is in their hands but we have great futures because of the students.”

“I like Paul Mitchell Schools,” Yosh adds. “They have lots of energy and good teachers. Because of that, they have lots of great, ambitious students. They’re focusing on the future. I have really good feelings visiting Paul Mitchell Schools.”

Rosie Matos is a truly motivated professional that is inspired by her salon team as well as the Paul Mitchell Team. Her forte is coaching stylists in the salon by implementing Paul Mitchell's educational tools. She is a gifted makeover specialist that can look at a client and tell them precisely what their hair needs. Traveling all over the country, Rosie takes a lot of time to stay current with all of the industry's latest trends. Her biggest achievement professionally was getting to travel to Germany to work with Robert Cromeans and Scott Cole, Artistic Directors for John Paul Mitchell Systems Rosie is also very proud of the work that she does with many of the Paul Mitchell schools across the country. Mentoring all of the eager students on what it takes to be successful helps her constantly reaffirm her love for the future of the industry. All of Rosie's dreams have come true with a team of hard-working stylists that love giving back to the community. The salon takes a lot of pride in putting together events and fundraisers for the disadvantaged and less fortunate. We have been consistently donating to Locks of Love, an organization that makes wigs for children that have lost their hair due to intensive chemotherapy. Rosie believes that we as stylists have a gift that needs to be shared with those around us. In return we get that indescribable feeling of goodwill that keeps us going through each and every day.

Not only is she a multi-talented stylist and National Educator for John Paul Mitchell Systems, Rosie has other interests in music, fitness, and art. As of January 2004, Rosie began piano lessons, something she has wanted to do her entire life. In June of 2004 she received her first honor, a certification of completion of Level One in her piano class. Her goal is to be able to play like her piano mentor, Winn Claybaugh. She also works out 5 times a week and maintains a healthy diet. Rosie keeps herself motivated by making sure she looks great in all those dressing room mirrors while she's shopping, another favorite pastime. Because Rosie is an artist in all facets, she enjoys putting brush to canvas as well as pen to paper. You can check out her most cherished piece at poetry.com. She takes time to put passion and love into each and every moment in her life, and to help those around her have a wonderful day. You might be wondering who keeps this amazing woman going full speed at all times. Her best friend, soul mate, and husband of 11 years, Santos Matos keeps her grounded and motivated inside and outside of the salon. Santos also works at the salon, making all of the business and financial decisions while keeping professional relationships strong.

As you can see Rosie Matos is not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill hairdresser. She is a gifted makeover specialist, thoughtful employer, and a caring individual as well. She is most definitely a treasure and Spring, Texas, along with the rest of the world, is lucky to have her!

* Hairdresser since 1987;
* Paul Mitchell Educator since 1991;
* Owner of Salon Matos, Inc. since 1998;
* Credited in American Salon Magazine in August 2004 by Robert Cromeans for his photo shoot creations.

For over 20 years, Kevin Michaels has been an integral part of the Paul Mitchell family. Moving through the ranks from Senior Associate, to Executive Adviser Coordinator, he is now represents the company as a Paul Mitchell Master Associate.

Kevin Michaels has developed a strong ability & versatility in working with hair texture and has mastered all aspects of this specialty. His skills and knowledge in this area have been instrumental in his success as a stylist, educator, and now as one of creators for the new Paul Mitchell Texture Curriculum.

As a successful salon owner, Kevin has been featured on Paul Mitchell Masters Interviews. There he contributed his salon success in business skills on “How to Build a Clientele”, inspiring those in our industry to “Create Magic” in their salons.

His talent and dedication have earned him the opportunity to be the creative master for music videos on MTV, TV commercials, as well as photos for industry trade magazines. However, his most memorable experience was joining the Paul Mitchell Team backstage at the “7th on Sixth Fashion Collection” in New York City, where he styled hair for some of the worlds most famous supermodels & fashion designers.

As the director of Paul Mitchell the School Tampa, he works closely with the Future Professionals, encouraging them to elevate their skills and strive for excellence.

A graduate of Paul Mitchell The School, Provo, Audra Turner has been a National Educator with John Paul Mitchell Systems for 15 years. During that time, she has been a Senior Associate, Task Force member, and Paul Mitchell color education program trainer. Her 19 years of professional salon experience includes 10 years as a successful salon owner. As a former Night Education Leader at Paul Mitchell The School, Provo, Audra understands the importance of giving Future Professionals every possible advantage of an excellent education.

In six years Douglas went from a graduate at Von Curtis Academy, now Paul Mitchell the School Provo. He is an accomplished stylist, and served as an educational leader at a prestigious salon in Las Vegas. As a Cutting Specialist and Technical Partner Training Leader for Paul Mitchell Advanced Education,

Douglas has the opportunity to travel around the US sharing his enthusiasm and passion for education. He also has had the opportunity to work with celebrities like Rihanna, Cindy Crawford, Carmen Electra and Joe Elliott.

Debra is a nationally acclaimed Stylist & Multi-Media Make up Artist with more than 30 years tenure in the professional Beauty Industry. Debra holds an Associate of Arts degree in Cosmetology and she was a successful salon owner for 12 years.

Her passion for hair and make up brought her to the Bay Area in 1996 where she pursued her craft as a Session Makeup Artist and Stylist on the sets of Nash Bridges, Bicentennial Man and Patch Adams.

Debra taps into a wealth of experience and delivers a fresh, passionate approach to learning.

"I have been professionally involved on a national level with John Paul Mitchell Systems for the last two decades, and a licensed hairdresser committed to the beauty industry for over 30 years."

Sharon Riser is Admissions Leader & Sales Leader for THE TEMPLE: A Paul Mitchell Partner School. With over 13 years of experience in the Beauty Industry she has overseen the day to day operations of one of the Top Salons in the United States. As an active member in The Salon Association (TSA), she helps guide and facilitate job placement for THE TEMPLE's Future Professionals, allowing us to guarentee five job interviews upon graduation. In 2006 Sharon was honored as one of the top 150 Most Influencial Women in the Beauty Industry by WISE. She also was named "Admissions Leader of the Year" within the Paul Mitchell School Network (out of over 100 schools) for 2006 and won the Prestigious Sales Award given by Winn Claybaugh ( Dean of Paul Mitchell Schools). She is also very active in volunteering and fundraising on both a national and local level.

She also is an educator with Paul Mitchell Advanced Education and writes the Paul Mitchell the School Admissions Newsletter for the network.

George Morales – Long Hair Education Leader
A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, George Morales brings a fashion background to the beauty industry. He worked with Nordstrom and other top companies and was an educator and platform artist for Aquage before becoming a Paul Mitchell Schools Learning Leader, Branding Specialist, and school owner. A celebrity stylist, George regularly works at LA Fashion Week. He also coaches many school fashion shows and the annual student presentation at the Paul Mitchell Gathering.

Dean Banowetz joined the nationally syndicated series "Extra" in February 2000, which coincided with the redesign and re-launch of the long-running news magazine. In addition to his responsibilities at "Extra," serving as hairstylist to the show's host Leeza Gibbons and Co-host and weekend anchor Dayna Devon, Banowetz also serves as Gibbons' personal hairstylist for her numerous special television appearances and charity events.

Dean moved to Los Angeles in 2000, leaving behind a full service salon in Bettendorf, Iowa which he owned and operated. He landed the job at "Extra" after facing stiff competition from hundreds of other applicants all across the country. In the summer of 2002 Dean took a job on a little known show called American Idol Search for a Superstar on FOX. His primary duties were to style host Ryan Seacrest's hair, along with everyone else who appeared on the show. Funny how something seemingly insignificant can snowball into a historic record breaking phenomena for FOX television! He just signed on for the second season and it is sure to be a bigger hit than the first one.

Born and raised on a farm in DeWitt, Iowa, Banowetz is the thirteenth child among a family of fifteen. After high school he joined the Active Duty Army where, in 1987, he was selected as soldier of the year. He continued his government career for seven years. He attended the University of Iowa in Iowa City. After getting an art degree, he attended Cosmetology school at Bill Hills College of Cosmetology in Davenport, Iowa. After cosmetology school, he worked in regional dinner theatre throughout the Midwest creating wigs for the actors and also performing on stage himself. Banowetz also took this time to establish his hair clientele. As a result of years of hard work, in 1992, Banowetz was selected as the North American Educator for a major hair care manufacturer, traveling to salons all over the United States.

In 2000 he attended a school in Santa Monica, California called "On Set Motion Picture Hair Academy," a school dedicated to teaching the tricks of the trade for doing hair in Hollywood. The owner, Susan Lipson , is the one responsible for making him send out his resume to studios in the LA area. She knew he had what it took. Since then his life has changed dramatically. For that, he thanks her.

Today, Banowetz still receives hundreds of letters from former clients, as well as from television fans across the country, asking for hair care tips.

Winn Claybaugh has been the owner of hair salons and beauty academies since 1983. He is the founder and co-owner of Paul Mitchell The School, which was ranked by Franchise Times as the 7th fastest growing franchise in the country in 2006. He is also the author of Be Nice (Or Else!) with foreword by CNN's Larry King, and the host of Masters Audio Club, a monthly audio program featuring interviews, success secrets, and business-building presentations by the best leaders in the salon and beauty industry.

Winn is widely recognized as a leader in his industry. In 2004, the North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA) named him to their Hall of Leaders for his outstanding contributions to the hair and beauty industry. American Salon magazine called him a ?mover of mountains? and ?Mr. Fix-it? in their November 1997 ?Super Heroes? section, and Modern Salon magazine recently featured him in an article highlighting his Shot-in-the-Arm seminar. His previous book, Connecting to My Future!, is a success guide that helps people get focused and stay focused on the steps to creating the career of their dreams in the beauty industry.

Since 1989, Winn has traveled extensively around the country, working as an educator and consultant for several industries. He has been the National Motivational Expert for Paul Mitchell, the hair product company. He has worked with thousands of private businesses and their staffs, including companies such as Southwest Airlines, Vidal Sassoon, the Irvine Company, Fuddruckers, Entertainment Tonight, Mattel, For Rent magazine, Structure/Limited/Express, and many other businesses from hospitals to apartment communities.

A popular speaker, Winn has been a frequent emcee for the NAHA Awards and a guest speaker for IBS shows, Hair America, International Haircolor Exchange, American Association of Cosmetology Schools (AACS), ICE shows, The Salon Association (TSA). He has worked with literally thousands of businesses, inspiring people to take control of their careers. His Shot-In-The-Arm event and Developing Leadership Pizzazz seminar have been attended by top executives, clinical psychologists, salespeople of every sort, day care providers, housewives, and people from every walk of life who are looking for a new approach to personal motivation. Winn's humor and rapport with audiences creates enthusiasm and momentum to help businesses get motivated and focused for greater success. His seminars are designed to empower leaders to create teamwork among their people and motivation for themselves.

A tireless and enthusiastic volunteer, Winn has served as vice president of the AIDS Relief Fund for Beauty Professionals, and he has been involved in other fundraising projects for City of Hope and Leeza Gibbons' ?Leeza's Place.? In the past three years, Winn and the Paul Mitchell Schools have raised over $1 million for multiple charitable organizations, including the American Cancer Society, the Larry King Cardiac Foundation, Leeza's Place, Katrina relief, AIDS causes, City of Hope, and more.

?I believe that giving back is not just a once-a-year happening,? Winn says. ?It is our daily duty. I have been very blessed, and so it makes sense that my team and I are passionately involved to raise lots and lots of money for many causes. Our efforts are not the result of large corporate donations, but rather from grassroots efforts, one dollar at a time.?

Winn resides in Laguna Beach, California. For more information, please consult: www.paulmitchelltheschool.com, www.mastersaudioclub.com, and www.connectingtomyfuture.com.

Vivienne Mackinder is one of the most highly respected international leaders and innovators in the hairdressing profession today. In her work as Artistic Director for industry ?Grand Masters? Vidal Sassoon and Trevor Sorbie, Vivienne developed an expertise for precision cutting and an eye for original hair design, from the classic and the commercial, to the avant-garde.

Based in New York City, she grew up in London and subsequently opted to ?spread her wings? to the United States. She has been honored with numerous awards, including the much coveted North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA) (five times), the most recent being ?Masters,? and the prestigious IBS ?Editors? Choice Awards (three times).

Vivienne is an ?in-demand? featured guest artist-educator for premier international events worldwide and her work is consistently published in the international press. She founded the ?Roots and Wings? educational program in New York City to much acclaim.

Vivienne?s career, as a master stylist, is divided between her salon clientele, editorial and advertorial shoots, advertising campaigns and countless special events as featured artist, not to mention her work for entertainment entities, MTV and the VH-1 Fashion Awards.

As a session stylist, she has collaborated and designed hair collections for runway fashion collections in New York, Paris, and London.

Vivienne?s newest and most rewarding project to date, ?I?m Not Just a Hairdresser?, is an exciting, informative and inspirational documentary film series which will inspire a new generation of professionals and re-inspire the seasoned stylist who may be facing ?burn out? syndrome, or questioning what?s next in their career.

Legends, the first episode in the series was released in the spring of 2005 and Empires, the second episode was released in the fall of the same year. Stars Behind The Chair the third episode profiling the leading ladies of hair, released in the spring of 2006.

?I?m Not Just A Hairdresser? has a mission to:
?Uplift The Spirit And Image Of Our Profession?, one stylist at a time.

Vivienne Mackinder is the founder and pioneer of HairdesignerTV.com, The industry's first online post-graduate program for stylists. This international program goes far beyond traditional educational models and provides in-depth, interactive training delivered via the internet. HairdesignerTV.com builds relationships and creates a community of empowerment. It will take your skills to a whole new level while "feeding your heart and pocket." For more information, please visit: wwwHairdesignerTV.com.

For more detailed information about our film series please visit the web site: www.ImNOTJUSTaHairdresser.com

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Movement of the Heart a non-profit organization.
www.movementoftheheart.org

Leslie Wolski has been in the spa industry for more than a decade. She began her career at the famed Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa as the Spa Operations Manager and was soon promoted to Spa Director where she led a staff of over 200 and grew profits over 30%. In 1998 and 1999 Leslie oversaw the multi-million dollar spa renovation and development project and in 1999 opened the new Sonoma Mission Inn Spa to rave reviews. Eager for a new challenge Leslie founded Spa Camp Inc., a corporate and home spa events company. She is most proud of Spa Camp?s relationship with the YWCA in which services are provided free of charge for battered women living in the YWCA?s safe house. In 2002 Leslie wrote SPA - Refreshing Rituals for Body and Soul for The Body Shop which has been released internationally with great success. Recently, Leslie realized she truly missed spa operations and began consulting with spas, coaching the management and lending structure to the operation, ultimately leading to increased guest and staff satisfaction and profitability.

As the Vice President of Science & Technology for Creative Nail Design, Schoon spends much of his time leading a team of scientists working with high-tech, computerized testing equipment to produce state-of-the-art nail enhancement products and natural nail treatments, as well as, world-renown spa products. With all of this expertise and technology, Creative Nail Design's research capabilities exceed even those found in many university laboratories.

For over sixteen years Schoon has led the Creative Nail Design's Research and Development program. He directs the Quality Assurance, Technical Services and Field Testing departments, as well. Schoon is the author of many books, video and audio training programs, as well as, dozens of magazine articles on salon chemicals, chemical safety and disinfection. He often serves as an expert witness in legal cases involving cosmetic safety and health. Additionally, dermatologists frequently call upon Schoon to assist them writing books and scientific papers concerning fingernails, proving without a doubt, he is a world leading experts on natural and artificial nail product, services and salons. He is also a strong advocate for salon safety and represents the entire nail industry on scientific and technical issues in Europe, Canada the United States . Schoon first entered the nail industry in 1986 as the founder of Chemical Awareness Training Service, CATS, the beauty industries first company focused on safety training programs for salons. So he has a long history of educating safe practices to nail professionals.

As a writer and speaker, Mr. Schoon is especially popular with the nail technicians because of his unique ability to make complex chemical theories and ideas seem simple, even easy to understand. His natural nail health, safety and disinfection lectures are also invaluable to anyone interested in product chemistry, safety and health issues, as is his most popular book, ?Nail Structure & Product Chemistry?, Delmar/Milady Publishing.

In addition, Schoon is a Co-chair of the Safety and Standards Committee of Nail Manufacturers Council (NMC), as well as, the holder of a Masters Degree in Chemistry from the prestigious University of California-Irvine. He currently resides in Dana Point, California.

In 1968, after working in a large Lithuanian hospital for several years, Sonia changed her focus from medicine to cosmetology and went on to graduate from the Institute of Cosmetology in Vilnius, Lithuania. She moved to the United States in 1975 where she began earning a name for herself here in America as a talented cosmetologist. She then moved to the west coast where she worked with Aida Grey for two years in LA, eventually deciding to move north to San Francisco.

In 1978 The Sonia Remy Skin Care Institute opened a few floors above Vidal Sassoon on Post Street in the heart of downtown San Francisco. Sonia held advanced training classes for licensed estheticians at the institute. Five years later, she founded the Sonia Remy Cosmetic Company, selling her own professional products to estheticians and salons.

Today, Sonia is the President of her company, she travels around the country providing advanced hands-on training to licensed estheticians.

SFIEC is the only 600 hour esthetic program offering her hands-on class as part of the curriculum.

David is a world-renowned hair stylist, artist, entrepreneur, educator, best selling author and "Daymaker." He is the founder and spirit behind Juut Salonspa, the original AVEDA concept salons. There are eight in the Midwest and one in San Francisco's Bay Area that are continually voted "Best Salon" within their communities. Juut comes from the Japanese word "Juuten" which means to refill. As a first name it means to uplift humanity and serve others. Collectively the salons see nearly 4,000 customers each day, and each of his 400 employees consider themselves personally responsible for making their clients' days. He deeply believes that by making other people's happiness part of what makes us happy, we can consciously begin to change the world.
He is the innovator of the "pay-it-forward" movement of Daymaking and the best selling author of Life as a Daymaker: How to Change the World by Simply Making Someone's Day. Wagner's philosophy for living a life that changes the world, one person at a time, through simple acts of kindness has captured the hearts of people all over the world. He is a highly sought-after speaker in the business, education and salon industries, addressing more than 50,000 people annually.

A devoted husband and father, David lives in Maui, Hawaii with his wife Charlie and their daughters Coco and Ava.