about us

liana phillips

Senior Artistic Designer (Hair Stylist), Owner

Liana has distinguished herself as one of DC’S top stylists by creating tailored looks that compliment guest’s features with “lived in” shapes. Over the past decade, Liana has mastered the art of the straight razor, which produces a soft, flawless texture. She has accumulated many hours of education with industry leading companies such as: Bumble & Bumble, Toni & Guy, Oribe, Arrojo, and Vidal Sassoon. Through this, she has developed a loyal clientele who trust her to give them an impactful and individual style. Blunt, modern bobs, textured pixies, and satin finished blowouts are some of the looks you will find in her portfolio.

jen phillips

Senior Artistic Designer (Color Specialist), Owner

After years of advanced training in New York City, under the industry's best, Jen became one of DC's early pioneers in bringing refined balayage to our city. With over a decade of experience and continued education through Loreal Professional Academy, Arrojo, The Redken Exchange, Wella and KAO Academy, her approach to color is intentional, customized and always rooted in hair health. Her philosophy has always been less is more while she believes beautiful hair starts with the integrity of the hair. As one of the founders, Jen's passion lives just as much behind the scenes at Aurora as it does behind the chair. She created Aurora's signature color apprenticeship program and has personally trained every colorist on the floor. The effect of this has set a tone for excellence in skill and customer service. Jen believes great hair happens when people feel supported and connected- whether that's in the salon, traveling together for education or celebrating the wins along the journey.

thomas joseph

Senior Associate (Hair Stylist)

Thomas was born and raised in the DC Metropolitan area. After studying creative advertising in college, he recognized his passion in hair and beauty. His training and education began in 2016 with Paul Mitchell. From there, Thomas went on to begin a rigorous apprenticeship in one of DC’s top salons. The continued education Thomas received allowed him to perfect his craft in cutting and styling. He has learned razor cutting techniques from Nick Arrojo and curly cutting techniques from Mizani and @evanjosephcurls. His main focus is on creating soft, lived-in cuts that are easy to manage and accentuate your best features!

leigh rieley

Senior Artistic Designer (Hair Stylist)

Leigh began her career over a decade ago, after graduating from the Aveda Institute in DC. She quickly established herself as one of the city's most trusted and accomplished stylists. She has developed a signature approach rooted in professionalism and effortless wearability in her cuts. Leigh creates shapes that grow out beautifully and fit beautifully in the real world. Her real power lies in her long lasting blowouts and her undeniable talent for fringe. Leigh has a loyal clientele who swear by her work- and a semi-cult following on TikTok who can't get enough.  Whether a short cut or a long cut, Leigh has a calm confidence that ensures Aurora clients feeling polished, confident and totally obsessed with their hair.

lily owen

Senior Associate (Color Specialist)

Lilly is a graduate of the Aveda Institute where her passion for beautiful blended color first began. She loves getting to know her client’s hair goals and lifestyle in order to create a tailored look for each person who sits in her chair. Whether it’s through customized foil work or balayage, she has a love for beautifully detailed hair color.

zoe divjak

Senior Associate (Hair Stylist)

Zoe is Paul Mitchell- trained stylist with a natural talent for the art of hairdressing.  Raised in a family of artists, her creative eye translates seamlessly into her styling, where precision cutting and design take top priority in her chair. She is well known at Aurora for her soft layering that creates subtle movement and shape that grows out beautifully. Zoe has built a reputation for herself for her blowouts- polished, voluminous, as they are undeniably runway inspired. Her signature approach to finishing the hair delivers a fashion show level of bounce, shine and refinement.

jazz athwal

Senior Associate (Color Specialist)

Jazz brings years of industry experience and a refined professional approach to every client he serves. A graduate of the esteemed Temple Academy by Paul Mitchell, he began his career in Tysons Corner, where he sharpened his technical skills and developed a deep understanding of professional hair care. His dedication and expertise led him to become an Ambassador for a major hair care line, expanding his wealth of product knowledge and reinforcing his commitment to maintaining beautiful healthy hair. Jazz is also a certified Goldwell colorist after receiving extensive training with the KAO Academy in New York. He particularly loves custom foil work and dimensional color. Jazz is always on the hunt for the next advanced education class he can attend.

juno gifford 

Senior Associate (Hair Stylist)

Sitting in Juno's chair is a breath of fresh air, as she has a strong passion for transforming a client's confidence from the inside out. While attending Temple Academy by Paul Mitchell, she immediately fostered a love for tailoring each cut to a person's  lifestyle and personality. Whether it's a blunt bob or effortless layering work, she is well versed in a multitude of precision cutting techniques. Working alongside our top stylists, Juno dedicated this past year to her passion of learning and perfecting her cutting and styling skills to truly represent the Aurora brand. She is also an extension specialist, specializing in Peace Hair Co. extensions.

becca dragan  

Associate (Color Specialist)

Becca is a highly trained colorist whose career was shaped In NYC's fast-paced and fashion forward salon culture. She graduated from the renowned Arrojo Academy, where she built a strong technical foundation in color theory. Her dedication and passion for hair color led her to the KAO Academy, where she earned her Master Colorist Certification with Goldwell- a huge achievement in the beauty industry. Certified in both hand-tied and keratin-bonded extensions, Becca has quickly become in demand at Aurora for all extension services, tailoring each detail to her client's lifestyle, goals and vision. Becca delivers an experience that is not only confidence boosting but beautifully executed behind the chair every time.

Kayla Smith

Junior Associate (Hair Stylist)

Grace Mueller

Junior Associate (Color Specialist)