Cantor’s Driving School Trainers

Cantor’s Driving School’s Experienced, Expert Trainers

Cantor’s Driving School trainers are the very best in Maricopa County Arizona. All trainers know how teens and adults learn to drive, so we customize our teaching approaches to our students. All Cantor’s Driving School trainers have clean driving records, have passed criminal background checks and been fingerprinted.

All Cantor’s Driving School trainers are Arizona state-certified.

Cantor’s Driving School has taught over 50,000 people how to drive – The Driving School That Gets Results®

Employment for Driving Trainers

Cantor’s Driving School is always looking for good driving trainers. Call us at 480-482-1900 to inquire about current opportunities, or send an email with your resume to cantorsdrivingaz@gmail.com.

Meet Our Driving Trainers

Kathleen Hardison

Kathleen was born and raised in Glendale, but currently resides in Peoria. She is married and has 3 step-children and 2 granddaughters. Kathleen left Glendale at 18 to travel across country to seek new adventures. Kathleen worked in the medical field for 15 years, from the American Red Cross where she trained new employees to Dialysis where she taught her patients how to perform dialysis and take care of themselves. At age 35 she joined the US Army and was stationed at 286th Signal Company, 11th Brigade, 3rd Army at Fort Bliss, Texas where she was the NCOIC (Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge) of training for 250 soldiers. With her passion for training, she has been a certified behind the wheel driving trainer, teaching well over 7,000 teenagers and adults for the last 10 years in Maricopa County. She teaches students how to drive, including defensive techniques to keep them safe on the road. She has attended over 1,000 hours of defensive driving and drivers education courses.

Stephanie Burdick

Stephanie is a former kindergarten teacher, accountant, and has an Associate’s Degree in Law. She grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah where she taught kindergarten. After moving to Phoenix, she took a job in the accounting field and stayed in that profession for 20 years. Her interest in teaching always remained strong, and now giving driving lessons allows her to return to a job where she can instruct and interact with students once again. Stephanie is dedicated, passionate, patient and friendly. She enjoys organizing various group activities and continuing education.

Lisa Mikelat

Lisa is from Wilmington, Delaware. She attended Delaware Technical and Community College were she earned an Associates Degree in Applied Science (Criminal Justice), a certification in Medical Billing and Coding, and another as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA). Later she joined the Delaware Emergency Management Agency (DEMA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). She is married, and has 2 children, 2 dogs and 2 cats. She has earned numerous certifications in Psychological First Aid, Children’s Sexual Abuse and Prevention, Certified Emergency Response Team, Search and Rescue to name a few. Lisa now resides in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Kathleen Mundo

Kathleen was born and raised in southwestern Michigan. She earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music performance. She continued in education to receive certification in K-12 music, K-8 all subjects, and a Specialist degree in Educational Leadership. Kathleen has taught music, band, choir, as well as working as a reading specialist, at-risk coordinator and K-12 assistant principal. She moved to Arizona with her husband, daughter, son, and pug in July 2017, and worked as an Instructional Support Specialist in Phoenix. Currently, during the weekdays, she works as a teacher for a middle school behavior program in Buckeye. She enjoys watching movies with her family, swimming, and drinking coffee.

Rachelle Sanchez

Rachelle was born in California, and her family moved to Arizona when she was 2 years old. She is a graduate of North Canyon High School in Phoenix and lived in Germany for 3 years. Rachelle is a wife and mother of 4 wonderful children and her family has 3 dogs. She has a passion for learning and teaching, including working as a daycare teacher and many positions where she was teaching new employees to be successful. She has a diverse work background, including owning her own recording studio, having a health insurance license and attending real estate school. She studied martial arts for 8 years and earned a black belt in Okinawan Karate.

Jeff Blythe

Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Jeff’s passion for driving began at an early age and has continued to shape his life. During his sophomore year at San Jose State University, Jeff realized he’d be much happier behind the wheel than behind a desk, so upon completion of a nine-month intensive training program offered by Sage Truck Driving Institute, Jeff earned his Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) with doubles, triples, tanker and hazmat endorsements. He then spent the next decade and a half employed as a commercial truck driver, before opting to call it quits in order to spend more time with his family. He has since put his skills and experience to work as a Lead Driving Instructor for Waymo (Google’s self-driving vehicle project) and as a Fleet Operations Specialist and Transportation Network Company (TNC) Lead Driver for Hertz. Jeff has been involved in competitive motorsports for a long time. As a member of Arizona Corvette Racing, he serves as both driver and in-car instructor. With a highly advanced driving skill set coupled with an extremely safety-conscious mindset, he’s a top notch driving trainer.

Andrew Shahin

Andrew Shahin is a native of Arizona and grew up in the East Valley. Andrew played baseball in high school and college for two years and then finished his academic work at Arizona State University. He later worked in the finance industry for 7 years, working for Wells Fargo bank and Merrill Lynch. He then joined the automotive industry working for car dealerships. Andrew is pleased to be working with new drivers as a driving trainer with Cantor’s Driving School. In his free time, Andrew loves being outdoors, playing sports, and helps run his brother’s used car dealership.

Chris Douglas

Chris lived in Southern California until 2007 where he was a private investigator for an insurance fraud investigation company. In 2007, Chris and his family moved to Arizona and he started his career as a driving school trainer. Chris has been a driving trainer in Arizona for over 13 years. He enjoys teaching his students the driving skills they will use for the rest of their lives. Chris has been married for over 25 years and has one son, three daughters, and one granddaughter. On his days off Chris enjoys watching movies with his family, watching sports, and playing video games with his family.

Simon Federman

Simon was born and raised in Southern California where he graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a Bachelor’s degree in film. He worked in production with an emphasis on live sports production and has broadcasted over five hundred events. In past summers he enjoyed traveling to other states for seasonal work as a camp counselor in New York and Vermont, and as a teen adventure guide to Ecuador and the Galápagos. In 2016 he joined the Army Reserves and is still currently serving. He was lucky enough to attend the Department of Defense’s language program for a year and a half where he completed an Arabic language course. Simon moved to Tempe in November 2020 where he enjoys playing golf, biking, and exploring his new surroundings. He is excited to teach new drivers defensive driving and road awareness to keep them safe while driving.

Christina Tanis

Christina was born and raised in Seattle, WA where she met her husband of 20 plus years and developed a love for teaching. She has taught kindergarten through 12th grade in all subjects. She has found her specialty is working with preteens in the classroom, teaching 7th grade math and working to teach young drivers to learn how to drive. Her first job after moving to Arizona was as a drivers education teacher which is where she discovered her love for teaching students to drive. She has a bachelor’s degree in secondary education with a specialty in math and has worked other jobs including sales, photography, and cook at home meal preps. She moved to Arizona in 2012 for sunshine and good health. She has 2 children and a couple dogs and bunnies. In her spare time, she spends time tending a healthy backyard garden, loves to bake treats, craft on her circuit and hang outside in the sunshine with her family.

Trace Dawson

Trace grew up in Utah where he graduated from Utah State University with a degree in history, then entered the US Army. He served in the Artillery and Military Intelligence and traveled throughout the country and world. He learned the Russian language and worked in Belarus and Ukraine. After leaving the Army, Trace settled in Gilbert, Arizona where he raised his four children. He has worked in several manufacturing and retail management positions. In his professions, he has driven throughout the USA, western and eastern Europe, including the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the Middle East. His focus now is enjoying his six grandchildren and teaching new drivers skills they will use throughout their lives.

Bridget Fry

Bridget is from Winnipeg, Canada and moved to Arizona in 2014. Growing up in Saudi Arabia, she has experienced a multitude of cultures and backgrounds. She has a Safesport certification, which is a child abuse and prevention program through sports, and is also certified through the Catholic Church on safety and abuse with children. Bridget is CPR and first aid trained. She has been a lifeguard and swimming instructor and has worked with elementary school children in the Cave Creek Unified School District for the past 5 years. Bridget is involved with the Phoenix Bobcats Track & Field Club. She lives in Scottsdale with her family.

Scott Walker

Scott grew up in upstate New York, graduating from High School in 1981. Scott enlisted in the U.S. Army and proudly served for 22 years with numerous operational assignments including Infantryman, Drill Sergeant, Recruiter, NCO Academy Instructor, and Training NCO. After retiring at the rank of Master Sergeant, he moved to the Phoenix area to work as a Senior Tax Analyst. Scott then formed Bottomed Out Entertainment as an independent film production company that specializes in screenwriting. Scott has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree at UOP. Scott enjoys using his 40 years of driving experience and 30 years of training skills to teach new drivers.

Branden Carnahan

Branden is a third-generation Arizonan and graduate of Sunrise Mountain High School class of 2004. He has lived in the Valley of the Sun as well as Flagstaff in northern Arizona. He currently lives in NW Peoria with his wife and 2 children. His obsession with cars goes back to when he was a toddler, collecting toy cars, riding go-karts with dad, and building model cars. He is a self taught mechanic of 15 years, and builder of custom cars and motorcycles. He also enjoys the outdoors, traveling, cooking, gardening, art and music, and spending time with his family and of course, driving. When he was a teenager, his mother and cousin were both killed in car crashes in Phoenix within the same year. He has made a lifelong commitment to teaching safe and defensive driving to others, with the hope of preventing these needless tragedies.

Jeff Kalk

Jeff is from Waukegan, IL. He attended school and played college basketball at Benedictine University in Lisle, IL. After transferring, Jeff earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. Upon graduation, Jeff began his 27-year teaching career as a physical education teacher. In 1998 he moved from Illinois to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to teach physical education and coach basketball. After spending 2 years in Grand Canyon, AZ, he moved to Anthem (just north of Phoenix) where he continued to teach physical education and coach. Being a physical education teacher gave Jeff the opportunity to teach students from kindergarten to high school seniors. Now that Jeff is retired from education, he thought it would be a great transition to continue to use his skills as a teacher and coach. His goal is to help new drivers gain the skills and confidence to be safe defensive drivers at Cantor’s Driving School. On a personal note, Jeff is married and has 2 wonderful daughters who will be graduating shortly from the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University.

Employment for Driving Trainers

Cantor’s Driving School is always looking for good driving trainers. Call us at 480-482-1900 to inquire about current opportunities, or send an email with your resume to cantorsdrivingaz@gmail.com.