Bennett Career Institute
Hair salon, Barber school, Barber shop in Washington, DC
- Address
- 700 Monroe St NE, Washington, DC, 20017
- Phone
- (202) 526-1400
- Website
- bennettcareerinstitute.org
About Bennett Career Institute
Bennett Career Institute is a beauty arts school located near the Brookland-CUA Metro Station in Washington, D.C., founded in 1996 by Chet A. Bennett. The school offers career training programs in cosmetology, barbering, esthetics, makeup artistry, hair braiding, and instructor certification, with programs typically lasting between one and eighteen months, and it operates a salon clinic that provides beauty services to the public. Bennett brings 34 years of experience in the beauty industry, including 30 years leading the institute, and the school is licensed and accredited by NACCAS, the National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts and Sciences, which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Beyond its core cosmetology curriculum, Bennett Career Institute has built a long-standing partnership with the D.C. Department of Corrections, in which instructors teach incarcerated individuals hair-cutting and styling skills to help them find employment after their release, giving many graduates what one described as a second chance at life. The institute operates under a philosophy of professional excellence and spiritual integrity, guided by its motto, 'training today for a successful tomorrow.' In 2026, the school celebrated its 30th anniversary, marking three decades of transforming lives through beauty education, entrepreneurship, and workforce development in the D.C. community, and launched a '0 for 30 Years' scholarship campaign to support aspiring beauty professionals. Chet Bennett has extended his community work beyond the institute as well, founding the C. Alan Foundation, a nonprofit supporting people with kidney disease through counseling, housing, and transportation assistance, and Kidney Kafe, a nutrition and community gardening program, work for which he received the American Kidney Fund's 2024 Hero of Hope Award.
Chet A. Bennett founded Bennett Career Institute in 1996 in Washington, D.C.'s Brookland neighborhood, building on decades of his own experience in the beauty industry. Over the following 30 years, the school grew from a single cosmetology program into a licensed, NACCAS-accredited institute offering training in barbering, esthetics, makeup artistry, and hair braiding, along with a public-facing salon clinic. One of the most distinctive parts of Bennett's work has been a long-running partnership with the D.C. Department of Corrections, through which the institute's instructors teach incarcerated men and women hair-cutting and styling skills they can use to find stable employment after release. For many graduates, that training has represented a genuine second chance, turning a period of incarceration into the foundation for a new career. Bennett's commitment to service extends past the classroom: he also founded the C. Alan Foundation to support people living with kidney disease and started Kidney Kafe, a community nutrition and gardening initiative. In 2026, as the institute marked its 30th anniversary, Bennett and the school celebrated three decades of what he describes as transforming lives through beauty education, entrepreneurship, and workforce development.
Photos
