Meet The Author
‘A Dreamer and a Doer.’
Serial philanthropist. Author. Small business owner. Advocate. Mentor. Boss. Mother of five. There seems to be little that multi-hyphenate Denise Dixon can’t do.
Born in Jackson, MS, Dixon was largely raised in North Las Vegas, and grew up with little means but an abundance of ambition. As a youth, she faced limited opportunity and poverty, but eventually triumphed over tragedy. She credits her involvement with founding philanthropic community projects at the time with paving the way for her various endeavors later on, such as the Sister2Sister Connection and Men of Tomorrow programs at her non-profit Center for Life Enhancement. These were some of the first mentoring and enrichment initiatives she created to support children and teens in at-risk neighborhoods - all of which she created while earning her associate degree in Business Management from University of Phoenix in 2010.
In 2015, Dixon set out to achieve two other longtime dreams: open her own business, the Cosmetology Institute of Las Vegas and become a certified cosmetologist. For Dixon, this was more than bringing a goal to life - and it was more than hair, nails and cosmetology education, too. She knew the youth she mentored often dreamed of big success and had solid goals for their future, but lacked the education, resources, mentorship, and guidance as to how to actually achieve them. She wanted to create an all-encompassing facility for her students and crafted its affordable curriculum to not only include professional beauty training, but classes on finances, and entrepreneurial/business owner basics such as licensing and legal processes, business loans, and leadership. To date, hundreds of cosmetology students have graduated from the Cosmetology Institute of Las Vegas.
Her philosophy of “paying it forward” benefits the whole community and her individual students. This holistic approach solidified Dixon’s mission to set her students up for success, and to great acclaim - the Cosmetology Institute of Las Vegas received national accreditation in 2019 and was named Small Business of the Year by the Urban Chamber of Commerce. Most recently in December 2021, Cosmetology Institute of Las Vegas won in the prestigious Las Vegas Review-Journal “Best of Las Vegas” awards for Trade/Technical School and was also a finalist in the Woman Owned Business and Customer Service categories.
As giving back is a cornerstone of Dixon’s personal and professional endeavors, she is also known for her annual “Wig-a-Thon” charity event, where she and her Cosmetology Institute students hand make human hair wigs for breast cancer survivors via association with the American Cancer Society. The event includes full beauty makeovers and wig installations for survivors. In honor of Dixon’s grandmothers, both of whom were diagnosed with late stages of breast cancer, the philanthropic businesswoman, a huge advocate for mammograms and early detection, also covers the cost of mammogram screenings for women in the community with no insurance at the event. In October 2021, the Today Show published a feature praising Dixon and her philanthropy with the “Wig-a-Thon,” event.
In 2020, Dixon published her first book, Poverty Costs More Than You Think, highlighting how she went from “welfare to wealth” and overcame personal struggles and adversity as a young woman. She also added to her countless philanthropic initiatives by launching the $10,000 AccelHERate Success Grant giveaway to minority female business owners as well as creating the Lena Dixon Legacy Scholarship, in tribute to her beloved grandmother, which awarded $6500 in college scholarships to multiple deserving high school seniors, locally, and in Mississippi and Florida, as well, in 2021.Through her work as a crusader for disenfranchised voices - especially POC and minority groups - Dixon aims to give underprivileged members of her community an empowering hand up via her continued mentorship both inside and outside of her cosmetology school. She’s a voice for the vulnerable and has a “whatever it takes” work ethic when it comes to achieving her goals. All of Dixon’s heroic and hard-earned accomplishments make her one of the brightest and most successful leaders in the Las Vegas community. The Cosmetology Institute of Las Vegas also has a partnership with Child Haven, which provides temporary shelter for abused and neglected children and teenagers in Las Vegas, where CILV students provide complimentary grooming and beauty services to the in-need minors.
Dixon has acquired/racked up a host of accolades and appearances in the past decade, including segments on NBC News 3 Las Vegas and winning the 2016 Fox 5 Shining Star Award. She has been profiled in Las Vegas Woman Magazine and graced the cover of MyVegas Magazine for her achievement as one of 2020’s Top 100 Women of Las Vegas, as well as Las Vegas Black Image Magazine.
Dixon is also an advocate for ongoing education. In addition to her associate degree and cosmetology license, she received a Next Level Business Certification from the Urban Chamber of Commerce SBA program in 2016 and a Tuck Diversity Business Certification from Dartmouth College in 2019, the latter of which she received a scholarship for from the Shea Moisture Fellowship. In 2021 Dixon expanded her knowledge into the medical genre of hair and scalp to become a Certified Trichologist through US Trichology Institute.
In her free time, Dixon enjoys spending time with her five children. Since 2018, she has been President of the Las Vegas Zeta Amicae auxiliary under the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. This Auxiliary is for non-degreed professional women who provide support to the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, community service, and scholarship.
“I am here to encourage you inspire you, and help you see the world and yourself as beautiful.” - Denise