Our Instructors

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:

1. Develop an expert understanding of the California Vehicle Code.
2. Develop a mentoring/coaching style of instruction that builds student confidence.
3. Always exercise patience, courtesy, and a desire to help the student.
4. Conduct themselves in a highly professional manner at all times.

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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:

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Teaching/Mentoring experience: Prior to becoming a driving instructor I was a math tutor, and helped many students survive their Pre-Calculus and Calculus courses.

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.

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Teaching/Mentoring experience: From a young age I have always loved helping my friends with varying activities in order to ensure they excelled in what they enjoyed. This transpired into hockey where at a young age I began coaching teams of differing ages. I consider myself patient and love problem solving which further grew my passion for teaching. I always make sure that all my students feel included because I feel being able to connect with one another is one of the key factors to having a fun but instructive class.

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.

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Teaching/Mentoring experience: At a previous job, I trained new hires. I am calm and easy going, but also very thorough. Many of my trainees became trainers themselves.

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.

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Teaching/Mentoring experience: Since high school I volunteered at schools working with young children, always finding it a joy to be able to help young ones learn something new. After college I worked for LAUSD working with special needs students. I have been able to work with all age groups, from pre-K all the way to seniors. I was able to learn the value of patience and open clear communication in the learning process. Most recently I worked with blind and low vision students helping them in different subjects from geometry to US history.

Thoughts on teaching: Simply stated: we learn something new every day; be it something amusing or trivial, or something useful and beneficial. I honestly enjoy both. I enjoy being able to teach someone a random fact, a piece of trivia that may not be entirely of use, but is just fun to know. But what I truly delight in is being able to share a piece of knowledge that a person can use. Something that can improve their life, even in the slightest.

Thoughts on the environment: The Earth is our home, the only one we got. We need to work towards a cleaner, more sustainable future. That takes each one of us putting in our part. And even the smallest contributions of many can eventually make a change.

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Teaching/Mentoring experience: Throughout high school I would volunteer with kids at a summer camp as part of the staff at the local community park. I would help host many events for the kids and plan activities that would be both fun and educational.

Thoughts on teaching: I believe knowledge is power. Teaching is essential and is done throughout everyone's lives. It builds up character, confidence, and makes us grow into who we are today. It's great how you can share your knowledge, experiences, and ideas so you can help others.

Thoughts on the environment: I am an outdoors person, so I always try to do my part in preserving the environment by always picking up after others and myself. Industrialism has taken over our world and environment and created more pollution than we can handle, affecting not only humans but also affecting present and future animal species. I am convinced a small change can make a big difference and everyone can do their part in preventing more pollution and further destruction.

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Teaching/Mentoring experience: As a young adult, I taught martial arts to kids ranging from the ages of four to fifteen.

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?

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Teaching/Mentoring experience: As a parent of a recent high school graduate, I have spent many past years as a parent volunteer in the classroom and in the school library. More importantly, with the role of being a parent comes the experience of being encouraging, supportive, patient, and understanding along with the teachings and interactions.

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.

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Teaching/Mentoring experience: Throughout my time at the university, I was always very eager to help students learn how to use any piece of equipment in the classroom. I believe that a hands-on approach was always an ideal method to get students engaged and would make any material exciting to learn.

Thoughts on teaching: In terms of instructing, I believe that every moment is a teaching moment and that we can strive for nothing but the best. Each step along the way when learning something new should be encouraging and have us keep moving forward to achieve our next goal.

Thoughts on the environment: If even the smallest insects play a key role in any ecosystem, just think about what sort of impact we have on our environment. We have to do our part!

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Teaching/Mentoring experience: I have been coaching people in boxing and kickboxing for 10 years; I've also trained teammates for up and coming competitions on Amateur and Professional levels. I also do personal training for finesses and strength training.

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.

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Teaching/Mentoring experience: I remember what it was like my very first semester of Chemistry 101, how intimidating and challenging the subject was. I knew the best way to retain information was by teaching someone else, and soon I found myself organizing study groups for classmates in need of extra help. It was this experience that led me to tutor general chemistry and statistics during my years in college and gave me the foundation necessary to excel in educating others.

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!

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Teaching/Mentoring experience: Even in high school I always enjoyed helping out others no matter the subject. This love for teaching led me to help tutor my younger brother and my friends' siblings in a variety of subjects, trying to make the learning process enjoyable. Later in life I started coaching basketball using the skills I learned because of my love for the game.

Thoughts on teaching: I believe making the teaching or coaching environment fun, relaxed, and friendly will yield the best results. We're all different and learn at a different pace, so it's necessary to adapt to every student's individual needs. Using patience to make for a safe and fun learning experience is what I strive for.

Thoughts on the environment: I love the outdoors... from walking on sandy beaches to hiking through the mountains. I truly believe everyone has to do their part to keep our planet clean. If just a few more people did so, we would see a huge difference.

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Teaching/Mentoring experience: I have 7 years of experience in the field of education. I have been a private tutor, after-school science teacher, ESL teacher, camp counselor, foster home youth counselor, and registered ABA behavior technician. I have worked with people of all ages in developing life skills and using them to learn more. So, I am not fazed easily and can hold a wide range of conversations, making for a relaxing, productive, and enthusiastic learning environment.

Thoughts on teaching: My approach is one that focuses on critical thinking so that a student may understand how they learn and apply their skills practically, even when I am not around to guide them. I enjoy learning random things in my spare time for fun, and thus, I always like to provide an engaging learning atmosphere, usually by connecting the things we already know and love to what we are learning about in the moment.

Thoughts on the environment: We, as a community, have a responsibility to take care of our shared environment, just like we do when we visit each other's homes and business establishments. By doing this, we create a better shared future for not only ourselves, but those who came before us and those who will be here after us.

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Teaching/Mentoring experience: I am an aspiring film director, and I have worked with child actors on several different sets. I have learned that providing instruction is a balance between keeping the child entertained and on task at the same time. This method makes me very easygoing and has allowed me to connect with not only my students but with their parents as well.

Thoughts on teaching: The best approach to teaching is to cater to the individual. Evaluate the specific student and focus on both their strengths and weaknesses, rather than following a standard script.

Thoughts on the environment: I believe it is our job as residents on this planet to take care of our home in any way we can.

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Teaching/Mentoring experience: I have several years of experience as a counselor as well as being the oldest of several siblings, so being a mentor has come naturally to me in my life.

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.

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Teaching/Mentoring experience: I am a calm and patient individual who has had over 30 years of experience driving. I enjoy teaching and working with children and adults of all ages. I moved to California with my family in 1980 and lived in Glendale and Burbank area most of my life. Over the years, I have had several jobs, but always enjoyed teaching the most. I mentored young kids, teenagers and younger adults with various projects while raising two kids and being actively involved in their lives. My wife and I give unconditional love and attention to our kids and that connection helps me understand and relate with my students better. With my easy going personality and positive attitude, my lessons are sure to be fun and interactive.

Thoughts on teaching: Teaching a student how to drive and be a safe driver is an experience that will stay with you for the rest of your life. Recognizing the fact that a novice driver may be very nervous and scared, it is my job to make sure that the student feels safe and secure knowing that I will do my best to provide that level of comfort. I believe in a soft and positive reinforcement approach to teaching. Building upon the basic skills and progressing forward with positive reinforcement will give the student that safe and secure feeling and make them a safer driver.

Thoughts on the environment: Plant a tree, recycle and do your share to preserve our environment today, so it will stay healthy and strong for future generations to enjoy.

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