Vanessa Thomas RN, BSN, CCE, CME
Owner
With a background in Surgical Intensive Care and management of a 50 bed medical/surgical hospital unit. She turned her professionalism to the area of Aesthetic Medicine 16 years ago and has continued to increase her medical knowledge gaining extensive training and certifications in Cosmetic Lasers, including Laser Hair Removal, Fraxel, IPL and V Beam.
Since 2004, she has enjoyed working at Advanced Aesthetics and has helped thousands of clients LOVE the way they look and feel! She particularly enjoys working with lasers to remove anything from unwanted hair to wrinkles, sun spots, veins, and more!
Vanessa holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from the University of Florida and is a Certified Clinical and Medical Electrologist. She has over 20 years of experience.
Vanessa is an Ocala native and enjoys spending time with her family and friends. Along with caring for her four kids and husband, Vanessa also spends her free time traveling, various water activities, and her secret passion – Interior design!
Sarah Cooper, APRN, MSN, FNP-BC
Nurse Practitioner
See Real Written Reviews For Sarah’s Services
Born and raised in Ocala area, Sarah is a board-certified, Advanced Family Nurse Practitioner through the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners(AANP). She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) at the University of South Florida, then advanced her education at the University of South Alabama, obtaining a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN).
As a registered nurse, she gained experience working within, orthopedics, neonatal-ICU, facial plastics, and oculoplastics. Her love for aesthetics developed while working in a fast-paced facial and oculoplastic surgery center as a peri-operative, intra-operative, and PACU nurse. Sarah began her career as a Nurse Practitioner specializing in oculoplastic surgery as a first assistant in the operating room and aesthetics. Realizing her true passion resided in the aesthetic industry, she transitioned to Aesthetic Medicine full time.
Sarah continues her education through her involvement in the aesthetic community and by attending aesthetic conferences. Her commitment to staying informed on the latest advancements and innovative techniques within Aesthetic Medicine is pivotal in delivering exceptional care to her clients. She is dedicated to serving her clients and helping them achieve their aesthetic goals, regain confidence, and restore their youth. Her top priority is instilling trust and educating her clients to cooperatively develop a premier plan of care.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and her fur baby Thurman. Sarah also enjoys traveling, outdoor activities, fishing, and living a healthy lifestyle.
Dani Simms, LE
Dani is a Licensed medical Aesthetician from Spring Hill Tennessee. She received her education in Franklin Tennessee and graduated top of her class in 2018.Throughout school she made sure to get hands-on experience by shadowing medical aestheticians and assisting in aesthetic procedures. She furthered her Education by accumulating certifications for Lasers and other medical aesthetic devices.
As a Licensed Aesthetician she Gained experience by working as a skincare specialist at a holistic Himalayan salt spa and then running a medical spa for two years and loved every minute of it.
In her free time, she enjoys outdoor activities such as fishing, Hunting and mountain biking. Dani has also been an equestrian for more than 20 years and enjoys spending time at the barn with her horse and her dog Daisy Mae.
Amanda Hetzel, RN
Novalash & Skin Specialist
Born and raised in Ocala. Amanda is a Med-Surg Certified Registered Nurse. She received her Bachelor’s in Nursing from the University of Central Florida. Amanda has been a nurse for nineteen years. Sixteen of those years were spent in a hospital setting in a variety of areas.
Amanda has spent the last three years at Advanced Aesthetics doing eyelash extensions.
In her spare time, Amanda enjoys spending time with her family.
Catherine Vidal
Customer Care Specialist
Greer Galavis
Customer Care Specialist
Raised in Gainesville, FL, Greer Galavis attended the University of Florida and Graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Commercial Recreation and Hospitality Management. There she met her husband and moved to Jacksonville after graduation. She worked in Hospitality for a short while there before starting a family back in Gainesville. She then moved to Tampa due to her husband’s career and continued to grow her family and working in retail. Another move back to Gainesville for her husband’s career, she decided to switch gears from retail and hospitality to medicine. She was with the Orthopaedic Institute for over eleven years. In that time, she worked her way up from Medical Technician to Staff Assistant.
She is now settled in Ocala with her husband and five boys. She started working at Advanced Aesthetics over two years ago part time and has fallen in love with the Aesthetic field and takes pride in her own skin care routine and loves to promote Advanced Aesthetics to others. She loves learning about all the services and products we provide so she can share it with all of you.
On her days she isn’t at Advanced Aesthetics, Greer is busy with her five boys and all their sports and extracurricular activities. She is either at a football game, basketball game, baseball tournament or golf match. In her free time, she loves traveling with her family, traveling with friends, working out and just relaxing and spending time with her husband and five boys.
Meriam Ghounem
Customer Care Specialist
Meriam was born in Danbury, CT and moved to Citrus County in 2011. She has attended the College of Central Florida for business. Meriam is a beauty enthusiast with three years of experience working at Ulta Beauty. She also has three years of experience being a nail artist.
Meriam’s passion for helping others and beauty started when she was young and continues to grow even today. She takes pride in providing exceptional customer service and beauty advice. In her free time, Meriam enjoys spending time with loved ones, mountain biking, and working on art projects.
Meleah Norris
Customer Care Specialist, Social Media Coordinator
Growing up locally in Ocala, FL, Meleah attended Forest High School then moved on to graduate with an Interior Design Degree from Santa Fe College in Gainesville, FL. While in college, she worked at Sephora as an Operations Assistant Manager, where she grew to love all things beauty.
Meleah moved back home to Ocala and started working with Advanced Aesthetics in 2022, since she has grown to also love the natural beauty in Aesthetics.
In her free time, Meleah enjoys spending time with family, friends and her pit, Winston. She spends her days off working in Appraisal/Real Estate, traveling, and taking many trips to Universal.
