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Meet Our Real Estate Trainers & Instructors

Learn more about our local real estate educators, how they found success in the industry, and how they’ll help find yours.

Colibri instructors

Find Real Estate Trainers & Instructors Near You

Starting a new career means working with industry experts to guide you through it. Our real estate educators provide years of expertise, relative to your area, to ensure a first-time pass on your exam — and success in your local market.

Lisa McKim

Lisa McKim

Lisa E. McKim is a licensed salesperson in the state of California and the licensed broker/owner of McKim Real Estate in the state of Colorado. She has been practicing real estate since 2007 and is a member of the National Association of Realtors. Her areas of expertise include residential real estate, income properties, mixed-use properties, prefabricated homes, and IRA real estate investments. She has been a certified instructor since 2018 and is a member of the Real Estate Educators Association. She teaches pre-licensing, continuing education and career development. Lisa’s twin passions are real estate and… More
Lisa E. McKim is a licensed salesperson in the state of California and the licensed broker/owner of McKim Real Estate in the state of Colorado. She has been practicing real estate since 2007 and is a member of the National Association of Realtors. Her areas of expertise include residential real estate, income properties, mixed-use properties, prefabricated homes, and IRA real estate investments. She has been a certified instructor since 2018 and is a member of the Real Estate Educators Association. She teaches pre-licensing, continuing education and career development. Lisa’s twin passions are real estate and helping others, so she considers herself fortunate to have a successful career which has given her huge rewards for both. She is especially proud to be a part of Colibri Real Estate because of the company’s high standards of excellence and integrity.
Lisa Slates

Lisa Slates

Lisa is a broker associate in Oklahoma, where she is the assistant managing broker at Bloc Real Estate Group. After years of keeping up with real estate from the sidelines, Lisa began her real estate career in 2015. She has a long-time passion for education, mentorship, and community service. Lisa was appointed by two Oklahoma governors to their taskforce on early childhood education. As a new REALTOR® herself, Lisa mentored a team of newly licensed agents who closed nearly $15,000,000 of transactions within a two-year period. She is a licensed Oklahoma instructor and holds the following certifications: ABR, AHWD, SRS
Lori Namazi

Lori Namazi

Lori has been a dedicated advocate and leader in the real estate industry for 20 years. She is passionate about reforming the industry’s image and elevating the level of professionalism with which agents and brokerages operate, with a strong emphasis on risk management and compliance education. She recently joined Century 21 Award as their regional compliance officer. Her background includes operating her own brokerage for four years and previously serving as a corporate officer and broker for over 1,800 agents for a large firm. She continues to operate the boutique-consulting firm that she founded, Namazi… More
Lori has been a dedicated advocate and leader in the real estate industry for 20 years. She is passionate about reforming the industry’s image and elevating the level of professionalism with which agents and brokerages operate, with a strong emphasis on risk management and compliance education. She recently joined Century 21 Award as their regional compliance officer. Her background includes operating her own brokerage for four years and previously serving as a corporate officer and broker for over 1,800 agents for a large firm. She continues to operate the boutique-consulting firm that she founded, Namazi Real Estate Resources, which provides operations and risk management advisement to independent brokers across the country. She serves the real estate industry in many capacities and is actively involved at the local, state, and Nation Association of REALTORS®.
Mara Maj

Mara Maj

Mara Maj is a broker-owner and instructor in California and Michigan. With 17 years of real estate experience, she has a deep knowledge of residential and commercial sales, portfolio management, and real estate development. Her understanding of pricing, risk-management, portfolio goals, acquisitions, and negotiations is a great resource for students. She holds a bachelor’s in business management with a focus in real estate law and finance. She is a current member of Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, National Association of Realtors, and Michigan Association of Realtors.
Marilyn Glazer

Marilyn Glazer

Marilyn holds her real estate managing broker’s license in Illinois and serves as a licensed instructor for real estate pre-licensing and continuing education. She has authored several continuing education courses that have been used throughout the real estate industry. Marilyn is also a REALTOR® Emerita with the National Association of REALTORS®. She received the Educator of the Year Award from the National Association of REALTORS® and from the Association of Illinois Real Estate Educators. She has a master’s degree in adult education from Northern Illinois University. Marilyn has an exceptional ability to help students drill… More
Marilyn holds her real estate managing broker’s license in Illinois and serves as a licensed instructor for real estate pre-licensing and continuing education. She has authored several continuing education courses that have been used throughout the real estate industry. Marilyn is also a REALTOR® Emerita with the National Association of REALTORS®. She received the Educator of the Year Award from the National Association of REALTORS® and from the Association of Illinois Real Estate Educators. She has a master’s degree in adult education from Northern Illinois University. Marilyn has an exceptional ability to help students drill through extraneous information to fully understand the essence of what is being asked of them. Certifications: AHWD, GRI, M.S.Ed
Mark Ruff

Mark Ruff

Mark has 34 years of professional experience in a variety of aspects of real estate, including financial and market analysis, project and property management, investment and residential real estate brokerage, development, affordable housing, teaching at the university level, consulting, and third-party review. Mark was also an adjunct professor in the University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy where he taught under-graduate and graduate-level real estate courses. Mark is a former director at the Housing Rights Center, a non-profit organization focused on preventing, litigating, and eradicating cases of housing discrimination. He was also a member of the Development and Audit Committees for The Trevor Project.
Melanie McLane

Melanie McLane

Melanie McLane is a second-generation REALTOR®; she is also an appraiser, a broker, and an educator. She owns and operates Jackson Real Estate in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania. A graduate of Kenyon College in Ohio, Melanie holds the following designations and certifications: ABR, CRB, CRS, EPRO, GREEN, GRI, RAA, RSPS, PSA, SRES, SRS. She is also certified as a distance instructor (CDEI) and teaches USPAP as an Appraisal Qualifications Board-approved instructor. She has also written numerous real estate courses. In 1979, she was named Penn State University’s Real Estate Instructor of the Year. She has served… More
Melanie McLane is a second-generation REALTOR®; she is also an appraiser, a broker, and an educator. She owns and operates Jackson Real Estate in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania. A graduate of Kenyon College in Ohio, Melanie holds the following designations and certifications: ABR, CRB, CRS, EPRO, GREEN, GRI, RAA, RSPS, PSA, SRES, SRS. She is also certified as a distance instructor (CDEI) and teaches USPAP as an Appraisal Qualifications Board-approved instructor. She has also written numerous real estate courses. In 1979, she was named Penn State University’s Real Estate Instructor of the Year. She has served as president for her local association, West Branch Valley Association of REALTORS®, and a district vice president for the Pennsylvania Association of REALTORS®. Additionally, Melanie served on various NAR committees, task forces, and forums. In 2008, she was inducted into the REBAC Hall of Fame as an instructor, and in 2012, she was named RSPS of the Year for her contributions to the RSPS course.
Michael Farrior

Michael Farrior

Michael Farrior is a Licensed Managing Broker and seasoned Real Estate Instructor with extensive experience delivering pre-licensing, post-licensing, and continuing education courses. An award-winning “Rising Star” and industry leader, he leverages his background in professional classroom instruction to translate complex contract laws and brokerage compliance into actionable success. Michael blends transaction expertise with dedicated mentorship to ensure the next generation of agents is fully prepared to excel in today’s market.
Michael Sunoo

Michael Sunoo

Michael Sunoo is a Colorado instructor at Colibri Real Estate. He has been a real estate broker, attorney, and investor for more than 30 years. He also held a California real estate broker license from 1991 to 2013. Prior to joining Colibri in 2013, he was an adjunct professor at the University of Denver, the Franklin L. Burns School of Real Estate, and Construction Management from 2000 to 2014. He also co-authored “”Global Real Estate”” (2004). He holds the following designations: J.D., M.A., M.Div.
Nancie Balun

Nancie Balun

Nancie is a real estate marketing specialist, journalist, educator, and philanthropist. She has been helping builders, remodelers, investors, buyers, and sellers build wealth through real estate for over 40 years. And for three decades, she has been the voice of New Jersey real estate, writing in trade publications, newspapers, and magazines. She has recently become a travel, design, and lifestyle blogger for New York’s “”House Magazine.”” Nancie is also the author of “”Selling Up! How to Sell a Home for More Money and in Less Time.””
Rhoda Moss Latimer

Rhoda Moss Latimer

Rhoda is a broker and sales associate in New Jersey. She’s also a licensed instructor and a practicing REALTOR®, owning a successful real estate business since 2004. Prior to her real estate career, Rhoda held a leadership role for a major New York City financial firm. She’s been an active instructor since 2014, and she believes in bringing real-world experience into the classroom with engaging and animated teaching methods — with a little humor to boot. She holds the following certifications/designations: ABR, AHWD, SFR, CDPE, e-Pro, SRS, CIPS, RENE.
Richard Gallegos

Richard Gallegos

Richard “”RJ”” Gallegos has 20-plus years in the real estate industry. He has consulted, served as IOR, or taught directly in all 50 states. RJ has numerous publications written and copyrighted via the Library of Congress. He’s also a certified distance education instructor (CDEI) and distinguished real estate instructor (DREI), as designated by the Real Estate Educators Association to set the standard for excellence in real estate instruction.
Sarah Santa Ana

Sarah Santa Ana

Sarah Santa Ana has found success in real estate for over 20 years. Working with more than 1,000 transactions, Sarah built her own brokerage from the ground up. Currently, she teaches Virginia real estate pre-licensing classes and works/teaches at Move4Free Realty, where she produces millions of dollars in transactions annually.
Season Bryant

Season Bryant

Season Bryant is a Michigan native with nearly 25 years of experience as a real estate agent. Season’s professional experience range from educational instruction in a variety of specialties, including management, marketing, sales, and customer service. She holds a bachelor’s in business administration with a dual major of management and marketing from Northwood University; she holds a master’s in business administration with an emphasis in marketing from Central Michigan University.
Steve Landfield

Steve Landfield

Steve entered the New York real estate market in 2007 and began teaching real estate a year later. During his teaching tenure, he was an instructor at Baruch College, City University of New York, several other smaller programs and, today, Colibri Real Estate. For the last 13 years, Steve has worked at a top real estate firm in Manhattan — Nest Seekers International — where he helped establish a commercial real estate business; at one point, he managed a team of 10 commercial agents. He also has a background in environmental hazard safety and is… More
Steve entered the New York real estate market in 2007 and began teaching real estate a year later. During his teaching tenure, he was an instructor at Baruch College, City University of New York, several other smaller programs and, today, Colibri Real Estate. For the last 13 years, Steve has worked at a top real estate firm in Manhattan — Nest Seekers International — where he helped establish a commercial real estate business; at one point, he managed a team of 10 commercial agents. He also has a background in environmental hazard safety and is an EPA-certified lead paint risk assessor. He teaches EPA/HUD lead safety inspection to New York City housing inspectors. He’s also licensed with the New York State Department of Labor as a mold abatement supervisor, and he teaches mold remediation to the staff of the New York City Housing Authority. In his tenure, the governor of New Jersey appointed Steve to the New Jersey Human Relations Council, where he focused on housing discrimination issues.
Thomas Vaughns

Thomas Vaughns

Thomas Vaughns has practiced real estate in California for over 10 years. His current credentials/designations include California real estate broker, CREN, CGT, RPA, FMA, J.D. (juris doctor), LLM (in real estate) and LLM (in taxation). His areas of expertise include landlord/tenant rights, real estate development, residential and commercial acquisitions/sales, facility management, sustainability and recycling, and property management.
Trudy Nishihara

Trudy Nishihara

Trudy is a Honolulu native who is bilingual/bicultural in English and Japanese. orn and raised in Honolulu, Bilingual/bicultural in English and Japanese. He has been a full-time realtor in Hawaii since 1986 and a broker since 1989. In his tenure, Trudy was the director of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, as well as president of the Hawaii Association of Realtors; he was also a chair on the Real Estate Commision.
Velore Brown

Velore Brown

Velore Brown has been actively involved in the real estate industry for more than 30 years as an agent, associate broker, managing broker, real property appraiser, Michigan property tax assessor, and educator. She currently owns a real estate brokerage firm, as well as Atlantic Real Estate Institute, LLC in Savannah, Georgia. Velore holds a bachelor’s in finance and management from DePaul University in Chicago. She also holds 15-plus real estate-related licenses, designations, and certifications. Additionally, Velore holds the Real Estate Educators Association (REEA) Gold Standard Instructor (GSI) certification. She has also earned the Certified Distance Education Instructor (CDEI®).
Victoria Scalzo

Victoria Scalzo

Victoria has been teaching real estate for 25 years. She’s been licensed since 1985 in New Jersey and is now a broker of a management company.