Meet Our Staff
Administration
Michaela Stipek, Director of Operations
Michaela manages the training and administrative staff. Her daily duties encompass ensuring the success of our team while maintaining the Institute's high level of quality standards. She works diligently on marketing campaigns, special events, creates direct mailing promotions and monitors SMI's website. Her leadership skills have directly resulted in the growth of the Institute. Her independent thinking has helped the Institute implement a variety of programs that enhance the marketability of our students. The post secondary licensing for our Permanent Makeup facility was acquired due to her diligence and problem solving skills. Ms. Stipek is a licensed aesthetician.
Len Jefferson, Admissions Coordinator
With a background of 20+ years working in the Federal, Superior and Municipal courts, Len wanted change. Her first love is to help others achieve their potential. Mentoring and working with charitable community events open the door to a passion that led her to the Institute. She is very enthusiastic about her position working closely with students as they begin their career in the skincare industry. She deeply understands how gratifying it is to witness life-changing transformations of students that graduate and work doing what they love for a living. Another asset Len brings to the Institute is her bilingual English/Spanish language skills.
Sylvia Kammeyer, Front Desk Supervisor
Sylvia comes to the Institute with an extensive background in customer service. She and her husband previously owned a video rental company in the West Valley. Her skills in sales, customer service as well as inventory control was the perfect fit for our organization. A native of Arizona, Sylvia enjoys music, dancing and traveling. Celebrating 42 years of marriage to her high school sweetheart, Steve, she says, has been blessed and blissful.
Education Department
Jacqueline S. Bryant, Licensed Aesthetics Instructor
Coming to Arizona from the Pacific Northwest, Jackie at a very young age had a love for understanding the skin's function as well as the art of makeup. This passion for the beauty industry, led her to seek a position in the cosmetics department of a high-end retail store. Because of her excellent customer service and sales, she quickly advanced up the corporate latter to become an account executive for major skin care & cosmetic lines.
Jackie continued quest for knowledge led her to enrolled in an aesthetics program. After receiving her license in 1998, she opened a day spa, and returned back to school to obtain her aesthetics instructor’s license. During the 8 years as an instructor, Jackie became a board member for the Board of Cosmetology and Esthetics in Washington. While sitting on the board, she was given the opportunity to teach state members the use of spa equipment.
Prior to joining the instructional staff at The Skin & Makeup Institute of Arizona, Jackie studied advanced aesthetics programs in Europe. With the many certifications she has acquired - Manual Lymphatic Drainage, Reiki Master, Reflexology and Accutonics – our students receive an additional element of specialized training.
Renee Poignard
Renee Poignard, a Cidesco Diplomate, comes to The Skin & Makeup Institute armed with over 20 years of extensive skin care education. Her sought after skills has deemed her a Skin Care Education Specialist developing a 600-hour State Board Curriculum and Post-Secondary school accreditation curriculum in compliance with the California State Board. She served on the National State Board Testing Division as a Subject Matter Expert; held a position for 9 years as the Director of Education at a prestigious beauty college in Atlanta, GA; and, coordinated advanced aesthetic symposiums providing continuing education courses for educators. Additional certification includes, Reflexology, Aromatherapy, Epi-blading, Lymphatic Facial Drainage and Facial Electrotherapy.
Renee has authored Milady’s Waxing Made Easy. Other assets include – speaking for conferences such as NASA, International Aesthetics Congress, Southern Skin Care Conference and the Midwest Beauty Show. She is known in the industry as the person to make things happen with her "Wow Factor" approach. Her pleasurable past time includes public speaking, computer writing, political science, culture anthropology and acting.
A side note: Rene made her acting debut last year on Southland a TV series that goes inside the lives of cops, criminals, victims and their families in Los Angeles.
With Renee’s diverse background, students will benefit from an environment that connects the curriculum with their varied interests.
