Mission Statement
​To provide education in safe motor vehicle operation; to promote confidence, independence, compassion, and empathy in our students; to fundamentally change the way that drivers in the greater Cleveland area think about and use turn signals; to build lasting relationships with students, their families, and the communities we serve.
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Hometown: Staten Island, NY
Education: Staten Island Technical High School; The University of Scranton (Bachelor of Arts in English and History); Jones International University (Master of Education in Higher Education Leadership and Administration)
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Rob (he/him) has served thousands of students as a Driving Instructor since 2016. When you find your true passion, you keep doing what you love!

For almost a decade, Rob served in student development roles at colleges across the country, gaining specialized training and experience in working with students of all learning profiles, including those with learning differences, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It was at a university in Colorado that he met the most kick ass woman in the world – his wife, Kristen. As year two out west came to a close, Rob and Kristen decided to make move to Cleveland, where Kristen had spent most of her life and where so many opportunities were waiting for them. Oh, if only they had known!

Shortly after settling in on the East Side and taking a position in student development at a local college, Rob looked for a part time gig in the hopes of saving a bit of money for he and Kristen to achieve that slice of the American dream and buying their own home. He wanted a way to continue working with students, to continue helping people to help themselves in impactful ways.

For the next three and a half years, Rob did just that, working with a local driving school and learning the ins and outs of driving instruction from professionals who truly cared about the student experience and making greater Cleveland's roads safer. Less than a year into that time, Rob made the decision to leave his student development career to focus on developing teen and adult students both behind the wheel and in the classroom – a career that gives him incredible joy and a great sense of purpose.

Unfortunately, once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, like many folks, Rob lost his position. With the support and knowledge of so many incredible friends and family, though, he and Kristen found a way to keep his passion for driver education going by founding Safe Pass, focusing on safe driving and the developing of lasting relationships with students and their families.

​Rob loves working with his students and partnering with them to achieve both safety and success every time they get behind the wheel. Their success is his success!

​He also gives a special shout out to the incredible Safe Pass team! Kristen, Cassandra, and James round out this amazing group with their dedication to safe driving, genuine compassion for our students, and the desire to tackle any obstacles that come their way.

Find out more about Rob's experience here!
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Hometown: Enfield, CT
Education: Kent State University (Education and Mathematics)
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Cassandra (she/her) was born and raised in Enfield, Connecticut, where she finished her primary education. At sixteen, she procured her driver's license and discovered the possibilities of the open road. After graduating top of her class in high school, Cassandra made the decision to go to college out of state. She was accepted at Kent State University, home of the Flashes, where she majored in education and minored in mathematics.

Wanting to develop more skills as an educator, Cassandra learned how to organize, corroborate, and engage with students to further their needs. Her passion for teaching expanded further as she tutored students with math-related learning disabilities.

Soon after college, Cassandra's love of driving led to a new position in insurance. Throughout that time, she worked to hone her customer service background and to personally develop skills with incoming employees, educating on new protocols and new processes. After a new opportunity presented itself, she left the corporate world for an exciting change!

After working a few different jobs throughout the last few years, Cassandra decided to combine her passion for education and her enjoyment of being behind the wheel to become a licensed Driving Instructor.

​Being able to educate others on the safety of being a licensed driver has been a very rewarding experience, for both Cassandra and the students, and she looks to continue to build these important relationships as an Instructor for years to come.
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Hometown: Mayfield Heights, OH
Education: Mayfield High School; Ashland University (Bachelor of Arts in Religion); Bowling Green State University (Master of Arts in College Student Personnel)

Kristen (she/her) was born and raised in Mayfield Heights and is happy to have settled in Lyndhurst with her husband, Rob. The longer she lives here, the more she comes to appreciate all that Cleveland has to offer. She and Rob are both excited to be a bigger part of the local community by bringing safe and reliable driver training to the east side community.
 
Kristen has hopped around in different fields -- from majoring in Religious Studies at Ashland University to getting my Masters in College Student Personnel at Bowling Green State University and spending four years working in higher education and student affairs to finally settling in the non-profit sector. She has been fortunate to serve the families at the Ronald McDonald House of Cleveland since November 2014.  
 
Over the past five years, Kristen has watched Rob become more and more excited and passionate about driver education and particularly about the students he teaches. She is beyond thrilled to join him in this passion and to use their combined strengths to have a positive impact on the greater Cleveland community through Safe Pass.

​Find out more about Kristen's experience here!
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Hometown: Cleveland, OH
Education: The University of Akron

James (he/him) was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, where he attended and graduated from Cleveland Public Schools. In the late 90s, he achieved his dream of attaining his drivers license at 17 years old. After a brief stint at Tri-C, James transferred to The University of Akron, where he studied Social Work, attaining both his Bachelor’s, as well as his Master’s Degree in Social Work.

During his 20 years of experience working in the social work/social service field, James worked as a Youth Advocate, Case Manager for youths and adults, School-Based Therapist, and Job Coaching working in Portage, Summit and Cuyahoga counties.

Throughout James career, as being an advocate for enhancing the lives of vulnerable population, change and growth has been a huge part of his responsibilities while working in the community.

After working in the social service field for nearly 20 years, James is now finding new purpose by serving others with compassion and care as a Driving Instructor.
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Hometown: Duluth, MN
Education: Grinnell College (Music and Spanish)
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Amanda (she/her) grew up in Duluth, MN, four blocks from the shores of Lake Superior. After graduation high school she attended Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, studying music and Spanish. She moved back to Duluth for a few years, but then relocated to Des Moines, IA until this past year when she moved to Cleveland in September 2020. She is very happy to be living in the Great Lakes Region again and back on a Great Lake. (Iowa doesn’t have many lakes and most of what they call “lakes” are glorified ponds.)
 
Unable to attend Drivers Education classes as a teenager, Amanda faced some anxiety about learning how to drive as a young adult, but finally accomplished that task at the age of 23 and has greatly valued the responsibility and freedom being able to drive has offered ever since. 
 
Prior to moving to Cleveland, Amanda has worked as a Quality Assurance Analyst at a large national bank, a medical receptionist, and as a stay-at-home-mom to her young son. In addition to her job as a Driving Instructor at Safe Pass she also works full-time here in Cleveland as an Insurance Agent for Progressive Insurance.
 
Due to her own experiences of learning how to drive, and strong belief in the value of contributing positively to one’s local community to the best of one’s ability, Amanda is passionate about helping instill in her students the knowledge, skills, and first steps of confidence required in becoming a safe, responsible, and caring driver. Even in the myriad of weather conditions and windy roads that Cleveland offers. (Her love of snow also helps, there.)
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Hometown: Perry, GA
Education: Mount Vernon High School, Milligan University (Bachelor of Arts in English)
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Em (she/her) was born in Minnesota and raised in Georgia, giving her an early sense of and respect for differing regional cultures and backgrounds and the empathy required in navigating differences.  She got her license a little later than most peers, at eighteen, and dove straight into the challenges and joys of driving by leaving for college in Tennessee two weeks later.

After college, she started a career in the auto insurance industry, lasting 11 years and counting, along the way developing skills in communication, teaching, training, and customer service.  By night, having a life-long passion for changing the world, she got heavily involved in community organizing and activism shortly after relocating to Cleveland in 2012 for her job.

Looking for new challenges, she decided that becoming a driving instructor would help to combine her passion for working with people and changing lives with her career experience in auto insurance, knowing firsthand the freedoms driving brings into a person’s life and also the importance of having a thorough and practiced understanding of driving safety.