Driving Instructors You Can Trust
Drivers Ed Direct believes that our quality instructors are a vital part of the learning experience. Therefore, we follow the most rigorous screening standards in the industry to determine which instructors are suited to make your teenager's driving experience successful. In addition to hiring our instructors by committee, we conduct Department of Justice background checks, Livescan database verifications, third party drug tests, and, we require that our instructors have all had prior experience working with teens in an educational and/or community service capacity.
To see what we demand from our highly qualified instructors, or to inquire about becoming an instructor yourself, read our instructor requirements here.
The Best Driving Instructors in California
With almost 15 years' experience providing behind-the-wheel drivers training, Drivers Ed Direct instructors have taught tens of thousands of teenagers how to drive safely in the greater Los Angeles area.
Drivers Ed Direct spends over 60 hours training each instructor, with a focus on helping instructors:
- Develop an expert understanding of the California Vehicle Code.
- Develop a mentoring/coaching style of instruction that builds student confidence.
- Always exercise patience, courtesy, and a desire to help the student.
- Conduct themselves in a highly professional manner at all times.
Meet All of Our DMV Licensed Driving Instructors
Get to know our crew and learn a little about what makes each of our instructors uniquely qualified:
Music: Death Cab for Cutie, Silversun Pickups, Muse, Taylor Swift, Depeche Mode
Hobby: In my free time I enjoy baking, hiking and spending as much time with my family.
Other Languages: Spanish
Thoughts on teaching: Teaching begins with me. I am a big believer in leading by example, and I enjoy teaching my students that it's ok to make mistakes, but progress comes with taking that mistake and learning from it and moving on.
Thoughts on the environment: Earth is our home, and I'm resolved in developing good habits that allow me to do my part in protecting our environment and it all starts at home with my everyday activities.
Music: Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, Derek & the Dominos, Wilson Pickett, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Hobby: I enjoy playing basketball and ping-pong, reading, watching movies, and eating good food (which is not always the same as eating healthy food).
Thoughts on teaching: Teaching is a great way to continue learning. When I try to explain something to students I gain a better understanding of the material, as well as a greater understanding of myself. Interacting with students is rewarding, because each one looks at the world in a totally unique way.
Thoughts on the environment: I like the environment. I want to get to know it. I don't want to kill it. I think littering is shameful.
Music: Beirut, The White Buffalo, Frank Sinatra, Charles Aznavour, Pink Floyd
Hobby: My favorite pastime hobbies are: playing hockey both roller and ice, swimming at the beach, playing video games with friends, collecting cards, learning about film, and driving through the city.
Other Languages: Spanish
Thoughts on teaching: When it comes to teaching, I personally feel connecting with the students is key. I don't believe in one person spouting facts while the other attempts to cram it in, instead I try to develop a special bond in which both teacher and student come to a solution together. It's very similar to my coaching style in which I don't tell someone what to do, but instead help them figure it out so they don't have to rely on me telling them over and over. I think this method is better for students because they no longer feel like they need an instructor with them at all times in order to be confident behind the wheel.
Thoughts on the environment: I believe in trying to save the environment as best as we can as individuals, not just for the future generations but for our own as well.
Music: Kendrick Lamar, Daft Punk, DJ Snake, Crown City Rockers
Hobby: On my free time, I enjoy playing video games like Tekken, Street Fighter and Smash Bros. I also enjoy video editing, animation, podcasting and tinkering with computers.
Thoughts on teaching: I find it fun to teach people the things that I know. I also think it's very important that they learn correctly and are efficient and accurate. I try my best to explain things in many different ways so that nothing is misinterpreted and is understandable from any situation. Knowledge is power.
Thoughts on the environment: Save a little bit of the world now so that there's a little bit for someone else in the future. I can't wait for solar power and electric cars to be more a thing.
Music: Buddy Holly, Chopin, The Cramps, Chet Atkins, Radiohead
Hobby: In my spare time I enjoy playing music, exploring, and going to new exhibits/installations.
Thoughts on teaching: My teaching philosophy is based in the belief that every student has the potential to succeed and thrive. I believe in creating a supportive and inclusive learning environment where students feel valued, respected, and empowered.
Thoughts on the environment: Treat your surroundings the way you should treat yourself.
Music: Beirut, Andrew Bird, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Johann Johannsson, Gigi Masin
Hobby: Hiking, reading non-fiction, watching debates as if they were sports, driving, and road trips. I drive a lot for fun.
Thoughts on teaching: Much like our differences in experience, cultures, and backgrounds, there are many different ways people learn and acquire skills. One of my main passions in teaching is to fully and effectively accommodate and make the experience of learning a new skill not so much a task but an adventure of worthwhile undertaking. I have witnessed friends and loved ones being underserved due to a difference in learning styles between the student and the teacher. I am passionate about preventing any kind of rift in my work and those whom I serve.
Thoughts on the environment: As an outdoor hobbyist and former environmental science student, I believe our environment is one of the most important assets to human survival economically, culturally, and health-wise.
Music: The Beatles, Elton John, Jeff Rosenstock, Dua Lipa
Hobby: In my free time, you'll catch me at the movies, reading a good book, or finding my center through yoga. Additionally, I'm an actor often found collaborating on various creative projects.
Thoughts on teaching: Good teachers can change your day and great teachers can change your life. I aspire to be like the teachers who influenced me growing up!
Thoughts on the environment: I'm really passionate about taking care of our environment. It's not just for us, but for our kids and their kids too!
Music: Metallica, System of a Down, Coheed and Cambria
Hobby: In my free time, I enjoy going deep sea fishing and lake fishing. I also enjoy reading books about historical events and people who have achieved great things.
Other Languages: Armenian
Thoughts on teaching: I believe teaching is much more than just giving simple instructions and directions. Teaching is something you have to feel and express differently with every individual. I take a simple, easy going, and understanding approach to my teaching. I like to analyze the needs of every student and identify their strengths, and my goal is to solidify their strengths, eliminate weaknesses, and give them confidence.
Thoughts on the environment: I believe we need to protect our world and care for all life on this planet, but first we must learn to care for each other and do right to our brothers and sisters in humanity. If we cannot help ourselves, how can we help our planet?
TV Shows: Friends, The Office, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, For All Mankind
Hobby: Flying airplanes on a flight simulator, star-gazing with my telescope
Other Languages: Spanish and some French
Thoughts on teaching: Even before becoming an instructor with Drivers Ed Direct, I loved teaching and mentoring those around me. Something I continually tell my students behind the wheel is that anything is possible as long as you believe it's possible. With practice, determination, and conviction, you can achieve your goals, and that is how I approach my students behind the wheel.
Thoughts on the environment: Our home planet Earth is truly a jewel in the universe and is like our own spacecraft that keeps us safe from the vastness of space. Unfortunately, we don't take care of it as well as we should. I firmly believe that all of us have a responsibility as tenants on this beautiful ship. We need to personally do our part to help the environment and start with the small things that may not seem to matter at first.
Music: Adele, Fiona Apple, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, White Stripes
Hobby: In my free time I love to craft, bike ride, hike, and go to the beach.
Thoughts on teaching: I am a patient, kind and easy going instructor. I realize the importance of learning the safest and most efficient way to drive. These are learned skills and behaviors that you will carry with you throughout your life. I want students to be knowledgeable, confident and safe drivers for themselves and their passengers.
Thoughts on the environment: I believe if everyone puts forth effort into making our world as healthy and clean as possible, we will all benefit.
Music: Frankie Beverly and Maze, Steely Dan, Chaka Khan, OK Go, Bastille
Hobby: I am a full-time musician and audio engineer. I help other artists with their music, whether it be for producing, session playing, or mixing/mastering. I also enjoy cooking in my free time.
Other Languages: Bengali, Hindi
Thoughts on teaching: Teaching is a two way street; the student learns from the mentor and the mentor learns from the student. Everyone thinks and learns differently. Discovering new ways to teach only helps me understand the topic more and at a deeper level.
Thoughts on the environment: It takes a village to preserve our environment for future generations. I hope that individuals with greater influence will take on the responsibility of influencing society to do their part in preserving our resources for our grandchildren's grandchildren.
Music: Zero 7, David Bowie, ska/reggae, funk, classical
Hobby: Working on my photography portfolio, gardening, going to museums/galleries, watercolor painting, fishing, reading, and attending car shows
Thoughts on teaching: I was raised in a family of professional drivers and had been taught early on the importance, safeties, and know-hows of driving. Being on the road with my dad in his semi-truck taught me so many valuable lessons. Ones I still adhere to till this day. I'd like to be able to give that back to my students ... building them up to be responsible, knowledgeable, skillful, and alert drivers.
Thoughts on the environment: Reduce, reuse, recycle, repeat.
Music: John Lennon, Drake, Kendrick Lamar, Bruno Mars, Maroon 5
Hobby: In my free time, I like exploring new hiking trails and going to the gym. I also enjoy going on bike rides.
Other Languages: Spanish
Thoughts on teaching: In my mentoring experience, I have concluded that students have different ways of learning. Not everyone will learn the same way. Each student is different depending on if they are visual, auditory, or hands-on learners. That is why it is essential to incorporate other teaching methods. My teaching method is setting up my students for success. For example, if I know that my student is having trouble making a left turn or right turn in residential areas, I will walk them through how to perform the task. If that does not work, I resort to giving more detailed instructions on completing the driving maneuvers. I also provide constructive criticism when the student makes a mistake, but I make sure I offer a positive comment and then explain to the driver how to correct that mistake. I believe that creating a positive and safe teaching environment for the students is of the utmost importance of teaching.
Thoughts on the environment: The outdoors is something that I genuinely enjoy. However, to preserve our environment for future generations, we must commit to research-based solutions to greening our communities around the region. I believe it all starts with educating our children about our environment and the importance of an ecofriendly environment.
Music: Slipknot, NEFFEX, Kendrick Lamar, 21 Savage, Pantera
Hobby: I'm a full time competitive Muay Thai Boxer, gym enthusiast and practitioner, love to run and hike, food lover and discoverer.
Other Languages: Spanish
Thoughts on teaching: In my experience as a coach/instructor, I have learned that failure can teach us many things about ourselves. In our early stages of life, when we fell, we learned to get back up. With that you build strength to stand tall and walk. That concept can apply to almost anything in life, every time you fail you learn to recover. You can build character, strength, commitment and work ethic. Failure can spawn creativity, motivation and tenacity. When you bring all of that together you are sure to achieve unequivocal success.
Thoughts on the environment: As human beings we hold the key to our very own survival, with that responsibility we should be held accountable for the very livelihood of this planet. It should be our duty to protect and preserve the very ecosystem we need to continue living.
Music: Kanye West (pre-2017), Childish Gambino, Miguel, Aaliyah, MF DOOM and all his pseudonyms
Hobby: I'm a huge fan of all things outdoors, so I love hiking, stargazing, camping, and currently learning how to fish! When I'm not channeling my inner John Muir, I love painting, drawing, and cooking!
Other Languages: Spanish
Thoughts on teaching: As an educator, I believe in creating an environment that makes the student feel safe, heard, and comfortable to ask questions, make mistakes, and have fun! Teaching any subject is a process that requires patience and adaptability; no two students learn the exact same way and it's crucial to acknowledge and adapt to each individual student's way of learning to provide the best experience possible. Learning how to drive can be difficult, but how we approach this feat together shouldn't be.
Thoughts on the environment: I love being outdoors and seeing just how green the Earth really is. Future generations deserve to enjoy our national parks as much as we do and everyone, from the individual to the corporation, plays a part in making that happen. No action is too small. Remember to bring in your reusable bags and fill your reusable water bottles!
Music: Wallice, Cage the Elephant, Still Woozy, Billie Eilish, Nirvana
Hobby: In my free time, I like to work on my singing/songwriting, work on and learn about my car, thrift with my friends, and go camping in the desert.
Thoughts on teaching: I believe that each person responds differently when learning new things. I can easily adapt my teaching style so your child has a better time understanding and focusing. I like to keep my teaching fun and interesting throughout my lessons while striving for that end goal: cancel out the weaknesses and turn them into strengths.
Thoughts on the environment: We only get to live once, so we might as well take care of the Earth we live on. The more we pollute the environment, the less other generations will have.
Music: Origami Angel, CRUISR, Tally Hall, Good Kid, Bad Suns
Hobby: Most of my free time is spent enjoying a nice cruise on a canyon backroad. I have a passion for cars, so when I'm not driving mine, I can be found working on it, buying parts for it, or scrolling the internet watching car reviews of cars I'll never own (That Acura NSX will be mine one day).
Other Languages: I am currently trying to learn German, although I am nowhere near fluent enough to hold a conversation.
Thoughts on teaching: Everyone learns at their own pace; I think adapting to that is of the utmost importance for an instructor. Some students need thorough instruction with reassurance throughout, whilst others need to see their mistakes and learn from them. Safety is nonnegotiable throughout training, and instilling that in our student drivers should be a goal for all instructors.
Thoughts on the environment: Everyone should do what they can, whilst holding responsible those who do not.
Music: OneRepublic, Imagine Dragons, DJ Snake, Amy Winehouse, Ellie Goulding
Hobby: In my free time, I enjoy reading fantasy books, love swimming, and playing with my dogs. Most of all, I love spending time with my family, cooking new foods, and playing Fortnite.
Other Languages: Currently learning Spanish
Thoughts on teaching: The best teachers are those who continue learning something new every day. Knowledge is constantly expanding, and I believe we must stay up-to-date with new information to remain relevant. Being patient and persistent in teaching is a rewarding experience, especially when you witness that "lightbulb" moment of understanding.
Thoughts on the environment: We all live together in this shared environment, and our future generations will also have to live in the same environment. That's why we should all do our part in keeping it clean and staying green.
Music: Blink 182, Sum 41, Logic, Gorillaz, Danny Elfman
Hobby: When I'm not working, I like to spend my free time listening to music, playing video games, reading my books and eating. Typical introvert stuff.
Thoughts on teaching: As a driving instructor, the idea of teaching is more than just instructing someone to get from point A to B. It's recognizing that everyone learns at their own pace as well as having the patience to instruct a student to improve their overall technique.
Thoughts on the environment: For however long we are here on this planet, we are responsible to take care of it and leave it in a better condition for the next generation.
Music: Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar, Shakira, Mariah Carey
Hobby: In my free time I enjoy tinkering with cars, exercise, trying new foods and traveling the world.
Other Languages: Armenian
Thoughts on teaching: I believe that people learn best when they are in a happy and comfortable environment. Therefore I prefer a more relaxed teaching style where we slow down to a pace that is ideal for the individual. A bit of guidance, patience and explanation gets the job done.
Thoughts on the environment: I feel that we all hold an important responsibility in preserving our environment. There are many little things we can change in our daily lives that will go a long way for the future well-being of our planet.
Music: I enjoy all genres of music, but here are some noteworthy names whose work resonate with me: Rodrigo y Gabriella, Linkin Park, Pink Floyd, The Drifters, and various classical/jazz artists.
Hobby: In my leisure time, I immerse myself in the world of video games and anime, finding both entertainment and inspiration. One game in particular that holds a special place in my heart is entitled 'Outer Wilds', while my favorite anime would have to be the original dub of 'Dragon Ball Z'. Additionally, I am a writer and have self-published a poetry book and a children's book, with several ongoing projects including screenplays. I am deeply passionate about physics and metaphysics. I love fitness, the outdoors, and the overall pursuit of personal wellness and fulfillment.
Other Languages: Currently in the early stages of learning Armenian and Spanish.
Thoughts on teaching: Teaching is more than just a simple act of handing out information; I believe it's a mutual exchange of life experience and wisdom. As a driving instructor, I aim for my students to leave with the understanding that becoming a better driver doesn't just benefit them behind the wheel; it can also have a lasting impact on who they are in all aspects of their day to day life. That every encounter on the road or otherwise is an opportunity to learn and grow.
Thoughts on the environment: Earth, it's all we have and until big industry is willing to place our shared home above profit, it's up to us to do all we can to protect it.