Darren Tessitore is a national leader in drug education training with over 20 years of experience teaching, training, and speaking to educators, law enforcement, and community leaders across the United States.
His work focuses on one core mission: training educators how to properly educate youth about drugs in a way that is factual, engaging, and effective. Darren doesn’t just present information. He teaches method. How to connect without lecturing. How to answer real questions. How to create lasting impact instead of one-time moments.
Darren’s training style is direct, practical, and approachable. His down-to-earth humor and real-world experience help audiences stay engaged while learning how to deliver drug education with confidence and credibility. Participants leave with clear tools, proven frameworks, and a deeper understanding of how to reach young people where they are.
Over the past 15+ years, Darren has delivered training on hundreds of stages nationwide and has personally trained more than 20,000 educators, including teachers, driver education instructors, law enforcement officers, and community leaders. His work has reached all 50 states and continues to expand through the educators he trains.
In 2020, Darren founded Drug Educators Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building and supporting a national network of trained drug educators. Through DEA, Darren works to raise the standard of drug education by equipping educators with evidence-based tools and free, proven curriculum resources.
In addition to his work in drug education, Darren brings a strong background in leadership, communication, and training, shaped by decades of experience in public speaking and professional development. This combination allows him to train educators in a way that is both structured and human, serious without being rigid.
Above all, Darren is driven by impact. He believes that when educators are trained well, communities are stronger, students are safer, and real change becomes possible.
– Darren Tessitore
For years, I was driven and ambitious, but something was still missing. I worked hard, built businesses, and stayed busy, yet I knew I wasn’t fully aligned with the work I was meant to do.
That changed when my life experiences finally came into focus.
At a young age, I lost seven close friends to drugs and alcohol. Those losses never left me. For a long time, I carried them quietly while moving forward professionally, until I discovered a better way to address the problem I had seen firsthand. A way to educate, not lecture. To inform, not shame. To equip people with facts and tools that actually change decisions.
That clarity became my turning point.
Once I understood my purpose, everything shifted. My work gained direction. My decisions became clearer. And my energy went into building something that could create real, lasting impact. I realized that the most powerful way to protect young people wasn’t through one-time talks, but by training the educators who reach them every day.
Today, my mission is clear: to train educators to deliver drug education the right way, with confidence, credibility, and compassion.
Whether I’m training teachers, working with law enforcement, or building national programs through Drug Educators Alliance, everything I do is rooted in this belief:
"When educators are trained with purpose and clarity, they don’t just teach information. They change lives."
600 Cleveland Street, Suite 225 Clearwater, FL 33755
