Education Team

Celebrity Stylist and TV Personality, William Whatley has been making his mark on the beauty industry for over 30 years. Throughout his career, he has worked his way beyond the client chair to salon owner, stage artist, and entertainer.

William’s passion for teaching has led him to several major beauty manufacturers such as Scruples, Sebastian, Areorazor, and All-Nutrients to name a few. There, William led their educational and show departments to develop some of the most cutting-edge hair color, cutting and styling programs in the industry today.

William’s fashion experience extends to some of the most notable designers including Roberto Cavalli, Betsey Johnson, Dolce and Gabana and Vera Wang. In addition, William was the lead host of Fox’s hit series “Ambush Makeover”, and has been featured on such television programs as The Today Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Rachael Ray Show, On Air with Ryan Seacrest and Good Day LA. In addition to appearing on a variety of award shows including the Grammys and Oscars, William has worked with celebrities Christina Aguilera, Pink, Justin Timberlake, Cindy Crawford and many of the headliners on the Las Vegas strip. Additionally, his work has been published in Modern Salon, American Salon, BehindTheChair.com. He has also been featured several times in the New York Times, Chicago Sun Times and the Los Angeles Times.

Armed with an arsenal of talent and a huge personality, William continues to make his presence known on international stages, venues, and in the media doing what he loves most—making people look and feel beautiful.

—"Education through passion, not ego."

Richie is of proud Dominican and Puerto Rican descent. In 2005, he was deployed as a United States Marine where he worked barbering fellow soldiers' hair. It was during this time that he discovered his true calling. Upon returning home, Richie worked in small barber shops building his skills. Years later, luck came upon him when he approached the owner of The Jagged Edge barbershop at the New Jersey Shore. In the next few months, in walked MTV with a little reality show called “The Jersey Shore”. It was then that Paula D, Ronnie, Vinny, and Mike the “Situation” became a part of his life. For 5 amazing years, Richie groomed the reality stars and the MTV crew. It changed his life and his career taking him to the next level! Now, 10 years later, he works independently but credits his mentors and loves sharing his barbering and grooming skills with those who want to learn.

—"You can’t rush perfection."

After obtaining advanced diplomas at The National Academy of Beauty Arts, Sami began her career at Hair Theatre in Kirkwood Missouri where she offered her clients the total makeover concept. Shortly afterward, she began to utilize Prorituals and continues to expand her beauty knowledge in everything from weddings to inventive runway-inspired looks. Fantasy and avant-garde hair is her muse, inspiring her to utilize her expressive talents with an artistic flare. While she offers cutting-edge techniques and trends, it’s equally important to her that every guest receives a personalized service that exceeds their expectations. Sami is passionate about crafting the look of her clients' dreams. This St. Louis, Missouri native loves diversity in both her career and personal life!

With 15 years of experience under his color smock, Daniel has become one of the leading color experts in the beauty industry. He’s developed a reputation for color corrections utilizing unique formulas that are often mimicked and used to create the vibrant colors seen in magazines.

Daniel has owned successful salons in Las Vegas and Denver and has worked on domestic and international stages for several hair color manufacturers. Additionally, he’s worked with high-profile clients on the Grammys, the Oscars, and the Billboard American Music Awards. Despite this, his demeanor never changes. He believes everyone deserves the very best regardless of status.

Daniel’s humble nature allows him to excel in teaching and doing what he loves most. Helping others elevate their skill to achieve salon-quality looks gives him the greatest sense of reward.

Amanda is passionate about the beauty industry and all the opportunities it affords. Hair and the transformation process has always made her smile. Her journey started 16 years ago behind the chair. Since then, she’s grown tremendously and developed a love for color—seeing a pop of color really brightens up her day!

Throughout her career, one thing that has always remained important to her is to learn, grow, and share. For the past 9 years, Amanda has been a Cosmetology and Barber instructor. She’s taught at various beauty shows, hair retreats, beauty schools, color classes, and CEU classes. Her work as a freelance Educator and Platform Artist has allowed her to connect and share her knowledge with the world.

In 2019, Amanda began working behind the scenes in the fashion industry doing hair for models. She’s worked Greenville Fashion Week as well as New York Fashion Week and has upcoming shows in Miami and Paris Fashion Week.

Despite her busy schedule, she still takes care of clientele while managing her salon, Elevations Salon in Greenville, South Carolina. There, she enjoys teaching and using Prorituals color behind the chair. Moving forward, she’s excited to continue sharing her knowledge and eagerly awaits whatever comes next!

—"Reach one, teach one."

Jesse Koenig brings charisma, excitement, and flare to everything he does! His 18 years of industry experience allows him to excel in all facets of cosmetology and barbering. He also brings over 10 years of experience as a platform artist, design team member for major manufactures, salon owner, licensed educator, and barber.

Jesse spent many years as a design team member with Scruples where he developed his craft and love for color, specializing in corrective color. He’s been published on the pages of Modern Salon magazine for his updo work and stolen the cover of Gothic Beauty magazine!

Jesse’s fresh take on traditional techniques gives fellow stylists and barbers alike an abundance of new ways to emphasize their own creativity. His passion for teaching is obvious as he believes “it’s important to pay it forward and give back knowledge.” His ability to reinvent common methods captures the eyes of many, inspiring them to make the world more beautiful one client at a time.

After graduating with honors in 2008, Andrea skyrocketed to the top of the hair color industry. With dynamic southern charm and the ability to relate her talents, she teaches hairdressers the most advanced coloring and blonding techniques known to the industry today.

Andrea has been a successful salon owner since 2010 and has accomplished huge credits over the span of her 11 year career. She has been featured as the lead guest artist on many stages across the USA and was voted “Top 30 Under 30” colorist in 2015 by Colorist magazine.

In a relatively short time, Andrea has been dubbed the “blonding queen”. Her ability to captivate and excite others through teaching eventually resulted in her being sought out by the television network Bravo. She now works bicoastal doing main stage events for hairdressers while also serving as the official hairdresser to the Real Housewives of Orange County.

Despite her hectic schedule, Andrea still manages to work behind the chair with real clients. Her fierce passion continually inspires her to evolve and create, bringing the latest techniques to the beauty industry.

—“You need a little color in your life to be your own rainbow.”

A self-proclaimed “hair nerd”, Emily Murphy graduated at the top of her cosmetology class. When she was just 21 years old, she opened her own salon in Rhode Island which has thrived for over 6 years. In addition, she’s worked as a design team member for color companies and as an independent educator teaching bridal styles, blonding, and hair extension techniques.

Hair coloring was her first passion. From bright fashion colors to sun drenched blondes and rich reds, color has always been her obsession. Emily’s favorite thing to do is experiment with new color formulas and patterns for foiling and balayage.

Emily’s also extremely passionate about education. She loves traveling to salons and hair shows where she can meet with other stylists in the industry and share her knowledge. Her success has led her to work on several photo shoots around the country as well as to perform color and hair extension services for the Real Housewives of Orange County.

—“Stylists are the backbone of the industry.”

Marlana grew up around her grandfather who was a barber and her grandmother who did hair for friends on a weekly basis. This fueled her passion for the beauty industry. In 2016, she graduated from the Cosmetology program at Southwest Community College, and for the past 3 years, she’s owned a successful salon in Brookhaven, Mississippi.

Marlana believes in creating a special relationship with every person who walks into her salon. She specializes in color and special event hair and makeup, and since switching to Prorituals, she has seen a noticeable improvement in her clients’ hair. She loves sharing her passion with stylists and clients alike, and being a Prorituals Educator has helped her do just that!

Since the beginning of his career, Kris Martel has been passionate about education and sharing his unique talents with others. Working behind the chair for 17 years, he specializes in costume and corrective color, cuts, and wedding updos.

Before joining the beauty industry, Kris was a professional ballet dancer. He performed for companies like the Ballet Theater of Boston, Southern Florida Ballet, and Chicago Dance Collective. During this time, he learned the art of theater hair and makeup from productions of Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, The Nutcracker, Chorus Line, Hello Dolly, and countless others. His work behind the scenes eventually inspired him to go to cosmetology school.

Kris attended Empire Beauty School where he excelled, achieving high academic honors and winning several awards for cut, color, and long hair design. He also received a scholarship to Pivot Point International to further his education.

Since then, he’s earned color certifications from Matrix, Joico, Color Freaks, Redken and All-Nutrient (to name a few), as well as certificates in Brazilian Blowout and Rejuvenol Keratin smoothing systems, long hair design, and Andrea Harbison Hair Extensions. Additionally, he’s worked with Miss USA pageants and one-on-one with Miss America contestants.

For the past 10 years, Kris has been a design team member and educator for All-Nutrient, teaching bridal hair and makeup. He's also an educator for Andrea Harbison Hair Extensions while continuing to teach cut and color classes independently. His vivacious personality and passion for the industry truly capture and inspire those around him.

Maryann is a revered stylist and educator. With over 30 years of experience, she has remained on the cutting-edge of the hair, fashion and beauty industry. She has trained with several well-renowned stylists and colorists, including Nick Arrojo, and has spent 19 years in the prestigious position of ‘Associate Artist’ with Scruples Professional Hair Care. By combining face shape, skin tone, hair texture and personality, she crafts the perfect looks for her clients.

In August of 2005, she realized her lifelong dream of opening her own salon. This afforded her the opportunity to embrace her vision by guiding up-and-coming hairdressers in the industry. With knowledge of the latest hair styling, cutting, and coloring techniques, she continually inspires staff and clients alike. Her blend of professionalism with a relaxed, client-friendly approach, has made her a success, and her commitment to staying on-trend has enabled her to become an educator for Prorituals and Tutto Hair Color.

With over 30 years of technical experience, Cyndie Makarewicz is one of the most well-respected salon professionals in Metro Detroit. As a platform artist, master colorist, and national director for companies emphasizing organic, non-toxic ingredients, she's passionate about healthy hair care and continuous education.

Cyndie’s portfolio includes everything from women’s shelter charity fundraisers to television styling for on-air broadcasters. She also shares her extensive knowledge through mentoring apprentices just starting out in the field. She’s an inspiration to everyone she teaches and a successful salon owner with a loyal client-base. Her commitment to learning the latest techniques, trends, and brands has helped her to continuously pave the way as an independent stylist and female entrepreneur.

For the past fifteen years, Daniel Phillips has been recognized as one of Atlanta’s top stylists. He was born and raised in the city of New Orleans, and has trained in the French, Spanish and American techniques of hairstyling. His multifaceted talents are highly requested by local artists, corporate executives and brides-to-be for his attention to detail and his desire for perfection.

Daniel’s years of experience in popular and trending salons in Atlanta have provided him with a unique blend of talents. This has allowed him to branch out on his own in his “Salon Nuveaux”, where appointments are in high demand. His specialized techniques naturally caught the attention of Prorituals Artistic Director and celebrity stylists Terrence Renk and William Whatley. Under their guidance, he has become an instructor for other hairstylists on the latest emerging fashions.

Whether Daniel is in his salon or on location, his goal is complete customer satisfaction. While attentive to his client’s requests, Daniel’s philosophy remains the same: “Hairstyling is more than just your technical skill. It means listening to your clients and helping them look their personal best without pushing a style or product simply because it is trendy.”

With his vision for hair and understanding of people’s needs, Daniel is a top rated Atlanta stylist with integrity, value and a strong reputation for excellence.

—“Hairstyling is more than just your technical skill.”

Michael has dedicated over 39 years to the art of hair color and care. From New York to LA, and almost everywhere else in between, Michael has taught schools and hair salons, and performed at beauty shows. Opting to go beyond just the basic technical aspects of hair color, he approaches color with an artistic eye. This enables him to show not only the maximum potential of the hair color, but helps inspire other stylists to express their own unique vision through use of color as well.

In the salon, Michael practices and teaches the Art of Precision Hair Color, Formulating, Mixing, Timing, and Reconstructive Hair Techniques. He follows the philosophy of ‘No more dull, dry, brittle hair!’, a technique that results in hair that is not just processed, but completely reconstructed. Michael's work is featured and can be found in Sophisticate’s Hair Style Guide and on the cover, front, back, and inside of “Passion Color Vol. 10”, an internationally released color style book.

—“No more dry, dull, brittle hair!”

Karla Vazquez began her career as an educator in 2004 and was immediately recognized for her talent in cut and color techniques. At 22, she opened her own salon in San Diego, CA, perfecting these techniques, and has since been sharing her talent internationally in both Spanish and English. Karla’s had the opportunity to share the stage with talents such as Yosh Toya, William Whatley and Terrence Renk, and has been recognized as the #10 natural hair colorist in Beauty Launchpad’s ‘Top 30 Under 30’. With cutting methods and color placement techniques that have been described as "exquisite," Karla continually strives to educate, motivate, and inspire all who attend her presentations!

Shalon Wilson eats, breathes, and sleeps hair! From the tender age of 8, she knew she wanted to be a hairstylist, and for the past 18 years, she’s owned the salon ‘Razzle Dazzle’ in Rockmart, Georgia. Her parents have always been a huge influence and source of inspiration throughout her career, and have supported her every step of the way.

Shalon’s passionate about color and constantly stays educated and up-to-date on the latest trends. She teaches color classes for Paris Beauty and believes in continually striving to improve and staying humble because being a stylist is more than just a job to her, it’s her life!

—"Your only competition is the stylist you were yesterday."

Known for his charisma, energy and creative edge, Prorituals Artist Jeffery James brings many years of experience in the professional beauty industry to the Prorituals educational team. Behind the chair, Jeffery provides a fresh, urban take on traditional techniques, encouraging fellow stylists to push their creative boundaries. With Prorituals, Jeffery has been involved with the national show team, worked extensively on campaign photo shoots and facilitated hands-on education at Scruples Hair Care. He lives and teaches by the motto that all stylists are visual artists.

—"All stylists are visual artists."

Tracy’s journey began over 17 years ago. Her desire was to fulfill her creative ambition. After graduating from Cosmetology School, Tracy began her now very successful salon in Clayton, NY.

Ever striving to better herself and to give back to the hair industry, Tracy’s creative journey found her joining a newly launched manufacturing company called Kaaral from Italy. In her new position as an educator, Tracy blossomed; so much so that her new position found her traveling around North America sharing her extensive creative skills with hairdressers, salon owners, students and distributorships. She quickly became respected as a wonderful, inspiring mentor.

Pushing herself ever harder, Tracy began to perform in industry events and shows, selflessly sharing her wealth of knowledge and creative skills. This culminated in Tracy and she was then asked to represent the USA in a much-revered show in Italy.

Continually crossing paths in the industry with William Whatley, Tracy has joined his Artistic Team for Prorituals and Regional Director of Education for the East. She looks forward to sharing and working together with such a talented team, and is most excited to learn from and share talents with one another and within this magnificent industry.

—"Through education, there’s no limit to growth and success!!"