About Our Driving School

Richard Lusby has led driving schools in various roles over 25+ years. He owned and ran two driving schools in Sugar Land, TX, and consulted for many others for over ten years before retiring. His retirement didn't last long; he inspected and worked with driving schools to maintain compliance with the Texas Education Agency until the agency moved to TDLR, and he retired again in 2016. But because retirement was not his style, he opened Wilco Driving School in 2016 as a one-man show where he only offered road tests. Wilco has grown to what it is today; he is now semi-retired, hanging around our office, helping students, and calming parents and partners. He occasionally jumps in the car because that is where the excitement is. In his spare time, he enjoys hunting, fishing, and participating in live sports events.

Lisa is a retired certified school administrator and diagnostician who left public school in 2019 when Wilco started to get busy and take off. She now maintains the day-to-day operations and is the lead simulator instructor. Because of her experience, she maintains high standards for choosing and retaining instructors and office staff at Wilco. She holds a master's degree in human growth and development and understands that not all brains learn the same. She incorporates learning styles and challenges in instruction planning and choosing services to be provided. On her rare days off, Lisa enjoys traveling, even if it is just a day trip to explore something new.

Geri is a retired teacher who is now our office manager and is an active member of the Burnet Community. She has a passion for horses and enjoys trail riding and working rowdy youngsters of all species. She is a grandmother who enjoys spoiling her grandchild every chance she gets; just ask and she will show you pictures. Her friendly and outgoing personality, combined with her organizational skills and attention to detail, make her the person you need to guide you through the crazy paperwork process. Geri is dedicated to providing excellent customer service and ensuring a smooth and stress-free experience.

Michele Cooper is a proud former Baylor Bear basketball player who, in her retirement, has devoted her time to substitute teaching in Liberty Hill and performing road tests at our school. Not only has she won a national championship in basketball, but she has a master's degree and experience teaching and coaching in high school. Her easygoing manner and quiet charm make her a favorite among our students. She joined our team in 2020, just before the government shutdowns and after moving to Austin from Dallas to be near her children and grandchildren. Her previous driving school director informed us that we would be missing out if we didn't hire her, so we jumped at the chance.

Larry Vinklarek has a familiar last name because his brother, Coach Victor, recruited him to join our team in the summer of 2022. An ag teacher in Pflugerville, he is experienced in working with unpredictable situations. He is an active member of the local community where he lives with his family, which is why he is such an asset. His experience with driver education, calm nature, and fearless problem-solving make him a favorite with our students.

Jim Freeman is well known in the Buchanan Dam area for a good reason; he's such a nice guy! He joined our team in late 2021 after retiring from Llano ISD as a history teacher, coach, driver education teacher, and bus driver. He lives in Burnet with his family. With his musical talent, Jim plays and records in his spare time and contributes his talents to the church praise worship band on Sunday mornings. He brings to our school 30 years of experience in driver education in a growing community, incredible patience, an easy-going demeanor, and a calm voice that we think you will agree sounds like he should be on the radio. If you live in his area, keep checking back because we will include routes out that way soon!

Mikhail did such a great job teaching his son how to drive that we couldn't help but offer him a job. After a long career as a professional driver, he joined our team in the fall of 2023, and he brings a fresh perspective since he has seen everything in many states and countries. He holds a master's degree that he earned as a student at a university in an area in the Soviet Union that is now part of Ukraine, where he grew up, but he has lived, worked, and raised a family with his wife in the USA. With his commercial driving experience, he is an expert in defensive driving strategies new drivers need to avoid incidents as our roadways in Austin get crazier and crazier. Mikhail speaks English, of course, but he also speaks Russian, Ukrainian, and Polish, but most importantly, he speaks good, safe driving in all languages.

Catherine Lusby is a student at Texas Tech University and helps out remotely thanks to her knowledge of technology. In fact, she may answer the phone during the school holidays when you call. Catherine started with us in middle school, answering phones, helping with paperwork, and helping the old folks with technology, including our website and social media (which isn't the same since she left for school). After completing her driver education with Wilco Driving School and taking her DPS road test at Road Worthy Driving Academy, she and many of her friends began advertising for us using a word-of-mouth campaign and soliciting feedback from other students on our services to make them better. Catherine is a scratch golfer and a sorority girl as well as a business major who looks forward to seeing her parents but probably wishes they wouldn't visit her at school so often.