Meet the AAM Team
Meet the heart and soul of AAM Operations. These are the people who take the vision and make it a reality.
Michelle Rukny
Director of Operations - Board Member Secretary
Michelle Rukny, Board Certified PMU Artist & Beauty Business Coach, is the owner of The Beaute Compound in Texas. Her extensive experience spans various techniques but her specialty is all things BROWS! She got her start doing Microblading after training in her city and over time acquired additional education. She is a Microblading and Permanent Makeup Trainer as well as Conference Organizer. She hosted her own PMU Conference (The Houston Beauty Conference) to further gain expertise and education in this industry and continued to coordinate events such as Pretty Ambitious Summit, The AAM PMU Virtual Summit and most notably the AAM PMU SUMMIT 2023. She will also be coordinating the AAM SUMMIT 2024!
Michelle is not only a Licensed Esthetician in Texas but she also holds various Permanent Makeup Certifications including: Microblading – Combination Brows & Ombré Brows -Permanent Eyeliner-Lip Blushing -Tattoo Removal -3D Areola Tattoo -Scalp Micropigmentation -Stretch Mark / Scar Camouflage & Advanced Paramedical Tattoo.
She is a mother of two boys, a wife to her husband Afshin and a dog mom to LEVI.
Sandy Sotelo
Social Media Coordinator
Sandy is passionate about inspiring others to live their best and most fulfilling life. She earned her M.B.A focusing on small business management and has always known she wanted to start her own company. She has experience in sales, marketing, public relations and brand management. Fast forward to 2020 in the midst of the pandemic, she decided it was time to go on her own and started MedInk’d along with her friend and business partner. She fell in love with this industry and is certified in Ombre brows, powder brows, lip blushing, scalp micropigmentation and scar camouflage. She is excited to share and spread the word of this amazing industry as the Social Media Communications Coordinator for the American Academy of Micropigmentation through educational content, podcast recordings and webinars.
Sylvia Tuason Molina
Strategic Consultant
Mimi DeSantis
Membership Ambassador for New Jersey
Maria DeSantis-Ferreira currently owns a thriving private practice, A Face Forever Permanent Cosmetic Specialist in Westfield, New Jersey and is a New Jersey state-licensed cosmetologist since 1984 and an American Academy of Micropigmentation member since 2003.
Maria’s passion for her profession and desire to expand her education and been demonstrated as she has earned over 30+ advance certifications in the newest permanent cosmetics techniques. Maria has had the opportunity to train with best of the best pioneers of the industry mastering in PMU 3D hair strokes, Softap method, micro-blading, scalp-micropigmentation, 3D areola
tattooing, scar camouflage and Micro-needling, Maria has also continued her extensive education & master training throughout the years of her permanent cosmetic career following the latest state of the art equipment and techniques in the PMU industry. This has led Maria to become an American Academy of Micropigmentation Certified Instructor.
Maria previously joined the Beau Institute as a primary instructor and now is a guest instructor for advance workshops/training. She also offers private workshops including apprenticeships, advance customized training, exam prep study coarse and AAM certification exam proctoring. Maria’s passion, patience, skills and ability to share this wonderful profession with new
students gives her great joy and satisfaction knowing that she assisting someone in pursuing their ideal career.
In 2015 Maria was invited to join the American Academy of Micropigmentation board member as Secretary & Ethics Chair taking her position serious with actively participating in restructing training, curriculum & regulations for past & future AAM members. She is greatly looking forward to continue serving the American Academy of Micropigmentation in her new position as the New Jersey Ambassador.