meet our staff
Founders: Mike and Tessa
Here we are with our first driving school car more than 20 years ago. Time flies. Since then we have remained a family run business. We strive to provide the best possible service, and take the responsibility of helping you become a good driver very seriously. We wear many hats from scheduling, receptionist, management, actual instruction, training/hiring, and IT. It has always been our goal to only hire the most qualified and compassionate staff possible.
Driving Instructors
Jim
Jim is our lead driving instructor, and is also an instructor trainer. He is a retired Beverly Hills motorcycle cop with more personality than Eddie Murphy. Everyone loves him and his stories. He has been with us for over 13 years, and is an expert at teaching behind the wheel driver training. He also teaches Classroom Driver Education, and Traffic Violator School. But don't ask him about the vehicle code. He may be the only person in the state to have it memorized. He's a huge animal lover, so try not to hit any critters.
Barry
Barry is not only an instructor with us, but an instructor trainer. He spent most of his career with the United States Post Office were he was a member of the prestigious 1,000,000 mile club (1,000,000 miles with no accidents). His attention to detail and strong desire to do everything the right way is what has earned him the spot an instructor trainer. He is also very friendly, laid back and calm. You will learn a lot from him, and have a great time while learning.
John
John was born to teach. He has been with us for over 14 years, and is a behind the wheel driver training instructor as well as an instructor trainer. He was previously an extreme sports enthusiast and whitewater kayaking instructor. This job does not scare him. He has an extremely logical and methodical brain which makes him an incredible communicator. We have never seen anyone who can communicate concepts as clearly and concisely as he can.
Norm
Norm: Imagine having to spend an entire Saturday in traffic violator school. Now imagine being so thrilled afterwards that you decide to send your instructor a thank you card and a gift. Norm manages to accomplish this feat on a regular basis. He loves to teach, and it shows in his customer's satisfaction. Oh, he's also a retired police officer, so he knows what he's teaching about. He's been with us for almost 8 years, and he teaches behind the wheel driver training, classroom driver education, and traffic violator school.
Steve
Steve is a people person, and his call to become a driving instructor with us was fueled by his desire to help others. He genuinely wants to see you learn and grow as a driver, and have fun doing it. Your success makes him happy and it’s why he loves this job! His degree in Community Education, 12 years of customer service experience as a restaurant manager, and passion for cars and driving make him the great instructor that he is.
Chris
Chris is a veteran of the U.S. Infantry who has worked as a professor at Florida State University for the last 13 years. In these and other professions, he discovered that teaching is his calling. He credits the progress of his students as one of the most satisfying and reward experiences of his life, working to create a balance between the importance of instruction and practice with the joy of driving. When not working, he follows his other passion: board games.
Allen
Allen is Mr. Happy. He seems to always be in a good mood, and this makes him very easy to be around. He's a retired Stockton police officer, and he knows his stuff. However he seems to have found his calling in this follow up career. Not only does he seem born to teach, but he seems born to teach behind the wheel driver training. He's a great communicator, and truly enjoys being in the car and helping people at the same time.
Aref
Aref has been working as a Driving Instructor for many years and is retired from the teaching profession at Elk Grove Unified School District. He combines courtesy and respect with quality instruction to offer a supreme driving experience to our customers.Originally from the Middle East, Aref is multilingual and can provide lessons in the Dari, Farsi, and Pashto languages. His English is excellent, but does include an accent.
Tim
Tim enjoys communicating with people with a wide variety of backgrounds and likes learning about different cultures. His experience as a retired RN in an ER has enabled him to be calm, understanding, and patient while teaching. When not working, Tim enjoys hiking, biking and woodworking, as well as travel and music, and enjoys being with family and friends.
Ryan
An expert with youth, Ryan has worked in the youth group at his church for over 10 years. He loves seeing teens succeed and grow. He does a great job helping students to relax and enjoy learning from him.He is always positive and upbeat and sees the best in every situation. He loves driving - especially his family CRAZY!
Ken
Ken has been behind the wheel of some sort of vehicle, be it a boat, a car or a motorcycle for more than 45 years. He loves the open road. He enjoys driving and has done many cross country road trips in the US and Mexico where he learned to speak Spanish. He has three adult daughters he claims taught him everything, and now six grandchildren who have debunked that theory. He is patient, compassionate and sometimes a little goofy. He believes laughing and learning equals success.
Jaqueline
A native of Nicaragua, Jackie grew up surrounded by great diversity in San Francisco. Obtaining a driver’s license in San Francisco makes you a pro in no time! A natural leader and teacher, Jackie enjoys working with individuals of all ages and from all walks of life. She has 20 years of customer service experience in the health insurance industry. She’s a great listener and easy to talk to which will make it for comfortable learning behind the wheel. Experience from parenting and instructing have taught her to gain great intuition in determining an individual’s immediate need. She speaks fluent Spanish and can provide lessons in this language as well. Her primary goal is to provide good service and dedication above all else!
Scott
Scott is a retired agriculture teacher.
He has been giving driving lessons for the past 8 years in the Santa Rosa and Petaluma areas of Sonoma County. He desires the opportunity to instruct beginning and veteran drivers life long driving skills to make our lives safer on the public highways. Scott has worked with FFA students for 30 years guiding and instructing them about their agriculture projects and developing leadership skills with public speaking and parliamentary procedure. He has also taught traffic school in the North Coast area for those citizens that were ticketed for highway offenses. His goal is to teach young drivers to stay focused on driving and not get distracted.