THE TEAM

CHI WAH : STYLIST

Chi Wah has been at her craft since 1985. She always had a longing to do hair but it wasn't until her thirties that she felt comfortable jumping in. She started her career working under Karen Maccarone at Avatar. There she fell in love with AVEDA, and that began a thirty year relationship with the brand. Chi Wah has a love of learning and has taken years of advanced education all over the world. She has studied with AVEDA, Alexandre de Paris, Arrojo, Deva Curl, Goldwell, as well as others. She has started an apprenticeship program over 20 years ago and has taught most of the Aveda educated stylists in Rochester, many of which now own their own salons - a fact she is very proud of today. Chi Wah has four children and a granddaughter. She loves to knit, listen to live music, eat exotic food, as well as travel to visit her baby sister Mimi whenever possible. 

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      SALENA : STYLIST

Salena grew up in the beauty industry. Her mother, Chi Wah, always had her in the salons as a child. As an adult, Salena started working at Chi Wah Organica after moving back home from the University of Delaware in 2005 and has been part of the CWO family ever since.  After a few years managing the salon she decided to attend Cosmetology school and graduated in 2008. Since then, Salena continues furthering her education with Aveda, and has taken classes at Arrojo in NYC. Salena loves that her career has brought her to many fun cities as she loves to travel. She spends most of her free time with her fiance Paul and their children, Ophelia, Miles, and Viola as well as their Shiba Inu's Lola and Odin.  Salena loves her Peloton community, and enjoys running daily. 

HEATHER : STYLIST

Heather started her career apprenticing under Chi Wah's first apprentice, Bronwyn Commesso back at Tru Salon. She had taken some time off to raise her two youngest children and came back behind the chair with us at Chi Wah Organica. She has a love of learning and in 2021 she went back to school to obtain her Barbering Licence. Her hobbies include tending to her massive vegetable garden, camping, crafting, painting, sports, and of course family time with her husband and four children.

FRANKIE : CUSTOMER CARE

PAIGE : CUSTOMER CARE & APPRENTICE

Frankie's beauty journey began at seventeen when he created the drag character "Frankie Starr". Through her eyes he could be anything and everything he wanted to be. That ultimately led him to go to school for Esthetics where his love of skincare grew. Nineteen years later, Frankie has polished his makeup skills and loves to help people achieve their own beauty desires. Frankie believes true beauty starts from within. The outside is your canvas to showcase to the world. Subtle to dramatic, makeup is meant to be fun and enjoyed.  Frankie also loves to play piano and sing. He and his husband Yeison, who is from the Dominican Republic, love to go on nature walks on their free time. Frankie loves to laugh and believes a smile can change a persons day.

Paige came to us at the most perfect time. She was attending Empire beauty school part-time and working as a waitress when one of our salon clients became one of her regular customers. He encouraged her to apply at our salon, feeling like she would be the perfect fit, and he was right!!  Paige has 15 years of customer service experience. She grew up watching her grandmother in the beauty industry and always dreamed it would be where she would land. During the pandemic she took a braiding class online, and that inspired her to apply to school. She graduated in early 2022 and will be Apprenticing Chi Wah and the other stylists as well as helping out at the Front Desk. In her free time, Paige loves to dance and swim. She also enjoys trivia nights, traveling, spending time with her family and friends, and all things Disney! 

SAMANTHA : CUSTOMER CARE

Samantha came highly recommended to join our team by two of our other team members and after working a year from home during the pandemic, she desperately missed the opportunity to be around others at work. She left ten years of working as the National Operations Manager for the Inside Sales and Marketing Department at Entercom to join our team! We feel so lucky to have her! Samantha is currently going to school part time online for cannabis horticulture, education and pain management. On her freetime she loves dancing, singing, Netflix, chocolate and making people laugh. Samantha believes strongly that the devil is in the details and prides herself on noticing areas of opportunity. She feels fortunate to join the Chi Wah Family and hopes to become an asset in both customer care and brand ambassadorship for all products and services.

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JOIN OUR TEAM

Chi Wah Organica is a mindful, professional, education driven, and career orientated Aveda Concept salon in Rochester, New York. Our Mission is to   build a culture that promotes wellness, that strives for the highest form of team service, and nurtures your creativity. All while creating a truly caring and unparalleled experience for ever guest, everyday. We are always growing and have the opportunity available for an accountable, motivated, team member looking to grow their career with us.

We offer Aveda Advanced Education to develop your technical skills.
​We have an in house apprenticeship program that is offered to all staff regardless of your prior training, where you will learn our foundations of cutting and multidimensional coloring using Aveda's Full Spectrum hair color.
​We offer full and part time positions with a cooperative team atmosphere that will support you in growing your business.
We hold quarterly career and personal goal sessions to further your personal growth, development, and success.

If you are looking to join our team, please click below to email us your resume and set up an appointment for an interview!

JOIN OUR TEAM