If there’s anyone who truly embodies passion, purpose, and progress in salon education, it’s Samantha Manuzak and Dani Darmanin. As Senior Manager of Services Education Development and Director of Services Education Development at Ulta Beauty respectively, the pair are at the forefront of shaping how stylists learn, grow, and thrive within the business.
Education with… Samantha Manuzak and Dani Darmanin
Try to find two people more passionate and dedicated to education at Ulta Beauty… I dare you! We caught up with Director of Services Education Development, Dani, and Senior Manager Services Education Development, Samantha (… or Sam… but never Sammy!) at the Ulta Beauty X SalonEVO Ulta-mate Evolution Podcast zone at Premiere Orlando back in June.
Both Dani and Samantha were bit by the education bug early on in their careers, and never looked back. Dani told us: “I had an educator come into the salon, and she was so knowledgeable. She taught me about the colour swatch book inside out, what the numbers meant, what the stroke meant, how much to mix and when… I was enamoured. And from that moment, I knew I wanted to go down the education route.”
Dani’s path in education took her to work with several brands over the years, but Ulta Beauty is truly where she found her passion. “I am in this wonderful world where I’m not tied to a specific brand, where I can really hunker down in this industry that I love so much. Being brand agnostic, we really lean into the growth and development of our stylist, which is a love and passion that I have, developing assisting programs and work on the business development side of things as well. It’s the best of both worlds, I get to feature brand love and knowledge, and also further the career development of our stylists… and work alongside the brilliant Samantha every day!”
For Samantha, her love of education hit her when she was still in school herself. “I’m about 17 years deep with Ulta Beauty and 19 years deep with salon education. I am so fortunate that the school I went to, identified an educational opportunity for me, and I was able to get a scholarship for the teaching program. Joining Ulta Beauty really skyrocketed that, and now, I get to live the dream writing education for stylists every day!”
Both Samantha and Dani are passionate about developing both stylists’ technical skills, as well as soft skills. Dani said: “If you want to build a strong clientele, you need the soft skills that lead to retention, as well as the technical skills to achieve results. A lot of time, building that empathy muscle is what helps stylists connect with clients, and create those long-lasting relationships.”
Samantha added: “Time after time I have seen stylists who aren’t the strongest on the technical side, but they have a huge client list and the highest tip percentage, because of their soft skills and experience!”
To learn more, apply and explore the possiblities yourself, click on Beauty Services under the Career Areas tab at careers.ulta.com.