Vivian Nash - Owner
With her keen visual sensibility and artistic nature, Vivian Nash, a professional stylist since 1973, has long sought to set standards of excellence in the grooming industry. As CEO of the Nash Academy, the rigorous curriculum she designed creates graduates at the pinnacle of their profession. She has been responsible for the creation of the first international student and instructor exchange programs in the pet grooming industry between the Nash Academy and the prestigious Sepia School of Japan.
She continues to travel to introduce the Nash System of education and to organize exchange programs with schools around the world. She has similarly sought to standardize and democratize grooming competitions worldwide by developing the first judging manual for dog grooming competitions, the International Judges Association in 1998, which remains the leader in judging the most prestigious grooming competitions in the world.
Vivian has originated and championed grooming methods that always put the compassionate, kind, and safe treatment of all pets first and foremost, and the Nash Academy curriculum focuses on the love of dogs as much as it seeks to develop creativity and artistic expression inherent in dog grooming.
In 2004, Vivian revolutionized the teaching of dog grooming by putting the renowned Nash Academy courses online, so that aspiring groomers could begin their educations at home, learning the theory behind the practice of the famous Nash methods, before attending hands-on classes at the Nash Academy. In 2008, she introduced two online reference databases which will further revolutionize the industry: the Canine Reference and the Groomers Reference, putting information concerning everything you need or want to know about the various breeds of dogs, including the bathing, grooming, and styling of dogs, at your fingertips.
Internationally recognized for her grooming skills, Vivian has won international competitions and has been an international grooming judge for two decades. She has won Cardinal Crystal Achievement Award for Judge of the Year and was nominated for judge of the year at Barkleigh Honors.
Her informed belief in the importance of education led the Governor of Kentucky to appoint her to the State Board for Proprietary Education in that state, a position she held for more than 9 years. She is one of the most sought-after speakers at industry conferences, known for her vast knowledge of grooming techniques and her endless enthusiasm. She is also the "queen of scissoring," and teaches her innovative scissoring expertise at seminars as well. Love of the dog, however, defines and informs all that Vivian does in the grooming industry, and her ongoing desire to revolutionize now includes the development of a new curriculum to help both experienced groomers and aspiring ones deal with the issue of state licensing of groomers, clearly the wave of the future in the grooming industry.
Tanya Slater
William Duran
Nash Academy/Nash Pet Salon announces William Duran as Director of Practical Skills Instruction at the Nash Pet Salon in Lexington, Kentucky, the onsite training location for the academy.
William is a graduate of the Nash Academy Dog Grooming School and is considered one of the best handlers in the dog conformation world, achieving National and Summer National Specialty wins, Best in Puppy Shows, Best in Specialty Shows, and Owner-Handled Best in Shows and Reserve Best In Shows.
He has been a pet lover all of his life, joining the 4H at 13 showing everything from rabbits to cattle but always wanted to become a professional groomer. Finally, he made that dream come true. He enrolled in the Nash Academy, and two days after high school graduation, he was on his way to Nash.
After graduating from the Nash Academy with his Professional Dog Grooming & Styling Diploma, William stayed on at Nash Academy in the Nash Internship Program, helping to teach what he had learned in school. After completing the internship, he went back home to Texas. He opened his first salon, later moved to New York City to work with a Nash graduate and eventually open his own business in New York.
His competitive nature led William to the grooming competition arena and the conformation show world.
He is a natural in the grooming competition ring taking Best in Show at the 2014 IJA Show at the Pittsburgh Pet Expo and Best in Show at the 2018 IJA Groom Bowl, a national dog grooming competition.
William is dedicated to the Pomeranian breed and has worked with longtime influential breeders Charlotte Creed, Annette Rister, and Roxie Campbell. He shows Pomeranians exclusively for the kennel "Majestic Pomeranians," who have produced numerous #1 dogs over the last 30 years.
He has achieved Owner-handled Best in Show and Reserve and Best in Show with guidance and support. In addition, at the 2021 American Pomeranian National Specialty Show with his personal dog Electra, he was awarded Owner-Handled Best of Breed, Select Bitch, Winner's Bitch, and Reserve Winner's Dog. Electra also won Winners Bitch at the 2020 AKC National Championship, the biggest dog event of the year.
William will work directly with Vivian Nash and Tanya Slater to present the Nash System of Pet Care Education at the Nash Academy in Lexington and the Nash Events at the International Judges Association for Dog Grooming Competitions.
He will oversee the students at the Nash Pet Salon, the training site for the Nash Academy Dog Grooming School and powered by the Nash System of Pet Care Education with over 50 years teaching pet lovers to be pet care professionals.