The AACS Board of Directors is proud to announce that after a nationwide search, we have selected a new Executive Director for our association!

Kathy Chow has more than 20 years’ experience in brand management, business development, marketing, and nonprofit management. For the last eight years, she has served as the Executive Director of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), a global nonprofit membership organization with more than 1,600 professional journalists. During her tenure at AAJA, she helped secure the largest foundation grants in the organization’s history and developed key strategic partnerships. Kathy has also served on the advisory council for the National Corporate Volunteer Council and the National Hands On Schools Council for Hands On Network & Points of Light Institute.

Kathy will be officially joining our AACS family in June and looks forward to the road ahead. A more formal announcement will be coming as we get closer to her official start but wanted to share with you the news.

We look forward to you meeting Kathy at CEA and the AACS Annual Convention in Florida!

Last week, over 100 AACS school owners, financial aid directors, admissions representatives, affinity partners, third-party vendors and employers fanned out all over Capitol Hill – conducting an estimated 150-250 meetings!

“Our members are honored with the responsibility and reality that nearly every American relies on a properly educated and licensed cosmetologist to meet their beauty needs,” said AACS President Frank Trieu. “Our industry provides thousands of individuals with the skills needed to earn a real income – paired with the opportunity to earn the trust of consumers as a licensed barber, stylist, massage therapist, nail technician or skin care professional. Our members care deeply about creating responsible policy that protects consumers and their pocketbooks by ensuring beauty and wellness schools have the freedom and flexibility to be innovative and serve the next generation of licensed professionals.”

Click here to read a full recap of the events and view the official photo gallery!

The Spring 2018 Beauty Changes Lives scholarship application season is coming to an end. The deadline for the MUD Make-Up Designory scholarship is Monday, April 23. The deadline for the Cosmoprof Licensed to Create scholarship is also Monday, April 23. Both scholarships are open to AACS member school students. The MUD Make-Up Designory scholarship will award five $2,500 scholarships, and the Cosmoprof Licensed to Create will award four $5,000 scholarships.

Scholarship winners will share how the gift of a tuition scholarship has changed their life during the Beauty Changes Lives Experience on Sunday, April 29, during America’s Beauty Show. The evening will introduce the scholarship winners to attendees representing some of the world’s biggest brands and influencers. In addition to speaking at the Legacy dinner, several scholarship winners will showcase their hair and makeup skills during the evening’s signature fashion show event. If you’re attending ABS or in the Chicagoland area, please be part of the experience. Ticket information is available at https://beautychangeslives.org/bcl-experience/.

A natural hair braiding deregulation bill failed to pass Louisiana’s House of Representatives last week by a vote of 44 yeas and 44 nays. As amended by the House Commerce Committee, HB 564 would have required the Board of Cosmetology “to maintain a list of persons who both perform natural hair braiding and meet the following requirements: (a) be at least 16 years of age; (b) annually certify to the board that such person reviewed the board’s brochure on sanitation and completed the self-test contained within the brochure or completed an online sanitation training video developed by the board.”

Click here for more State Relations updates from Nebraska, California, Tennessee and more.

Have you registered for the 2018 CEA & AMP Annual Convention yet? From now until May 18th, get your discounted tickets to the most anticipated event of the year! You can also submit your nominations for the N.F. Cimaglia Educator of the Year award – submit your colleagues, your friends or even yourself!

Details on the schedule and hands-on workshops will begin rolling out soon, but you can take advantage of the discounted rate today by clicking here.

April 28 – 30 | McCormick Place North, Chicago IL

Who attends:

America’s Beauty Show is ONLY for licensed salon professionals and students, NOT the general public. Some 70,000+ hairdressers, nail technicians, estheticians, salon owners, beauty school instructors and students, plus manufacturer and distributor personnel attend each year.

Click here for the step-by-step process to register for discounted tickets.

Help us update your records! Notify Glen Fernandez (glen@beautyschools.org) of which employees should be removed from your member profile. Need to add new staff? Send their Name, Title, and Email to get them entered into the AACS database. If you’re unsure of who you currently have listed in your profile, Glen can send you that information to help edit the list.