Instructor BIOS
Dan Prego
Dan Prego is a licensed Real Estate Agent Broker, with over 15 years teaching experience. A Real Estate teacher with Real Estate Trainers since 2004, Dan previously taught languages and trained employees in Corporate America. His 20 years of experience in advertising, accounting and his knowledge of real estate also provide him with great understanding of marketing and finance. Dan’s skills, energy, interaction with the students and sense of humor make his classes fun and exiting. With his computerized presentations, techniques and memorable examples, students find it easy to remember the correct answers during the examination. Dan’s success rate of students passing the exam the first time they take it, together with his caring personality, extensive research and up to date information will surely make you a successful Real Estate Salesperson or Broker.
Though classes are taught in English, Dan is also fluent in both Spanish and Italian.Dan teaches the Real Estate Principles Course, Broker and Salesperson’s weekend Crash Courses and has developed special tutoring sessions for the additional courses required to complete your license.
Dan is also available for private tutoring upon request.
Dan can be reached directly at DanPrego@aol.com or 310-486-0908
Rhonda McCune
Rhonda McCune has been with RET for over ten years primarily presenting the State Licensing Exam Preparation class and Appraisal Mathematics. She is a Certified General appraiser with experience dating back to the early 1980's, starting her career appraising high-income properties for a mortgage banker. She taught residential appraisal classes at Cypress College in 1991/92.
As a former city councilwoman and Mayor for an Orange County city, Rhonda was able to couple that experience with her appraisal profession to represent developers and other property owners on a variety of issues before governing boards. Ms. McCune holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business/Finance and currently serves as an Orange County Assessment Appeals Board member.
Mr. Gardner has been in real estate for over forty years. He presently has a California broker's license (grandfathered), and has managed/owned several offices, served as training director for many real estate companies, including Century 21 Region V. He has also held the position of CEO/president of a major franchise network.
Mr. Gardner has a Juris Doctorate degree from Western State College of Law. He acted as producer and host of the television series "Real Estate Week"
and "Real Estate Open House" airing in Southern California.
He has been teaching real estate subjects for over thirty years, and has been with Real Estate Trainers since February of 1986.
Harry Gardner
Jeremy Diaz, instructs the RET Real Estate Principles course and the weekend sales person crash course.
Jeremy has been in sales for over 25 years. Prior to joining RET, Jeremy's background was as teacher, salesman and sales trainer.
Jeremy's introduction to the real estate industry was through real estate coaching. Jeremy has worked for two of the nations top coaching companies. After working with and training some of the best agents in the country, it was time for Jeremy to become licensed himself. When, he inquired which school agents attended to received their education, everyone said, “Real Estate Trainers”.
After receiving his license, Jeremy became fascinated with the licensing process and in time joined RET.
Today, Jeremy works in the Student Services Department of RET and is a REALTOR with Century 21 Professionals Irvine.
Jeremy Diaz
Lance McHarg
The son of one of the founders of Real Estate Trainers, Lance Mc Harg has been with RET since its inception (off and on). Lance rejoined RET in 1999 working his way to Vice President in 2007. Through the years, Lance has accomplished most jobs within RET including teaching Real Estate Principles, the sales person crash course and the brokers crash course as well.
Lance's career path has lead him to help run, maintain and increase profits for different companies in the transportation field. Lance enjoys being with RET, and the interaction he has with the students.
You can reach Lance at lance@retrainers.com or call him at 714-348-3510.
Rochelle Golden
Rochelle Golden has been successfully selling and leasing commercial real estate in areas of Southern California. She is currently working as a retail leasing agent for a development company that owns property in Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. An expert at marketing to regional and national tenants she has been involved in real estate for over four years. Her first experience in real estate was selling and leasing industrial real estate in Downtown Los Angeles for a top notch company. Now she wants to teach you everything that you will need to know to be a successful real estate agent. Rochelle teaches RET's live Principle course, is a commercial coach and tutor.
Stuart Mangrum
Stuart Mangrum taught his first real estate class in 1988, as an instructor for the Century 21 Northern California region, where he later served as Director of License Training. An Air Force veteran and a graduate of the University of Maryland, Stuart has a deep background in training management and curriculum development, with a particular expertise in exam preparation programs. He is proud to have helped many thousands of students obtain their California and Nevada real estate licenses, without putting a single one of them to sleep. When he’s not teaching classes for RET, he works as a marketing consultant and freelance writer in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Virginia K. Baert
Virginia brings over 22 years of Real Estate experience to her teaching of Real Estate Trainer courses. She has been a Broker since 1993. She has a National Assoc. of Realtors CRB, Council of Real Estate Brokers, certified designation. (It should be noted there is only a small percentage of brokers who obtain this designation throughout the country.) She has been involved in all phases of Real Estate including: commercial, mobile homes, business opportunities, and of course, her specialty of residential property. She started her own office in the Orange County area before moving to the Inland Empire area in 2002 where she maintains her business.
She has been teaching the Principles course for most of her Real Estate career with enthusiasm and passion! She really enjoys making sure the students understand the material. She accomplishes this through her expertise of dissecting the legal terminology for the students so they understand it clearly and achieve their personal goal of passing the DRE state exam. She also teaches the Real Estate Trainers weekend review for those students taking the state exam the following week. The feedback from students is that they love her teaching style very much and often request her to teach the weekend review. You will enjoy her teaching as well if you go to her classes taught in the Inland Empire.
Rod Hefington
Rod began appraising in 1976, (33 years experience). Hold a private pilots license. Marine Corps 1976-1980 (Active/Reserves)
He has appraised single family, small income units, commercial multi family units, mobile home, modular, vacant land, easements, encroachments, condominiums, custom homes (over $1,000,000), commercial buildings, commercial land, complex properties, rural property, and contaminated land. Have completed over 32,000 assignments. Current License level is Certified General.
Rod has also worked in Family Law for over 30 years as an appraiser, also being court appointed for Family Law and Civil Litigation as an expert witness. Have been in over 132 depositions and trials.
Carl Whidden
Carl Whidden (BA, Secondary Education, cum laude) has taught Real Estate Principles and the “Crash Course” for Real Estate Trainers since 1990. Carl taught secondary education with the Los Angeles Unified School System before joining Real Estate Trainers. He is the author of the popular book “High Return Strategies in Real Estate” and has been a featured real estate broker on KTLA radio.
