Our Team · Orange County Flight Center

At Orange County Flight Center, our team is built on professionalism, mentorship, and a passion for aviation. Since 1981, many of our graduates and instructors have gone on to successful airline and aviation careers, while our current team continues to inspire the next generation of pilots. Our instructors are dedicated to safe, supportive, high-quality flight training — and behind them stands a dispatch, maintenance, and admissions staff working to the same standard.

LEADERSHIP
Adina Zaharescu — President
Niki Alexander Shetty — Managing Director
Robert Tellez — General Manager, Admissions Office
Michael Jesch — Director of Operations · CFII · Multi-Engine Chief Flight Instructor

FLIGHT INSTRUCTION
Andrew Ngo — Chief Flight Instructor · CFI, CFII
Chris Flegel — Assistant Chief Flight Instructor · CFI, CFII
Jeremy Tate — Assistant Chief Ground Instructor · CFI, AGI, IGI
Jonothon Cone — Ground Instructor · AGI, IGI

CERTIFICATED FLIGHT INSTRUCTORS
Suroosh Farhadi — CFI
Sebastien Sofge — CFI, CFII
McKenzie Callahan — CFI, CFII
Ranim Ziade — CFI, CFII
Ho Jin Jung — CFI, CFII
Vishesh Malhotra — CFI, CFII
Zihang Zhou — CFI
Sunwoo Hwang — CFI, CFII
Jun Young Choi — CFI, CFII
Koen Ebbinga — CFI, CFII
Yonwoo Jeong — CFI, CFII
Chad Apodaca — CFI, CFII
Vivek Ganglani — CFI, CFII

VETERAN ADMISSIONS
Logan Wagher — Veteran Liaison
Brandon Riggins — Veteran Liaison
Chris Tellez — Veteran Liaison

LEGACY INSTRUCTORS. OCFC honors the instructors who built the school's reputation: Barry Jones (Director of Operations · ATP, CFI, CFII, MEI, AGI, A&P), Alex Beckman, Gregg Plambeck, Michael Johnson, Tien Nguyen, Saood Dadabhoy, Brandon Langius, Gus Ocegueda, Nicole Palmer, and Blake Barnett.

Many of our instructors, students, and staff are veterans themselves. Whether you are starting from zero or building toward the airlines, you are joining a community that understands your mission.