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Our Faculty

 

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Meet Our Core Staff

 
 

Donna Mae DePola, CASAC, CPP, President

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Donna Mae worked for The New York City Board of Education as a Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist, increasing the personal capacities of high-risk youth to evade the experience of drug use in their lives. Her career in the addictions field continued at The Ridge Associates, an outpatient clinic in Brooklyn, NY as an individual and group counselor. Donna Mae also worked as the Regional Director for Liberty Behavioral Management Group, Inc., whose facilities include Arms Acres, Conifer Park, and Holliswood Hospital. In 1994, Donna Mae founded The Resource Group for Education and Training, the largest stand-alone CASAC school in New York. From a single location in Brooklyn, she continued to grow the agency to where a single location couldn't meet the demand. Today, Donna Mae remains the driving force behind The Resource Training Center, and it's now 5 locations around New York.
   
 

Dona Rae Pagan, CASAC, GS Vice President

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Dona Pagan has been working in the health and addictions field since 1990. She served as a Regional Trainer for the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) AIDS Institute for four years during her 12-year professional tenure at Exponents, Inc. She is an expert in developing specialized curricula, and founded DYSO (Do You See Opportunity), a 350-hour OASAS approved curriculum for faith-based community groups working in the addictions field. DYSO merged with The Resource Training Center in 2006.
   
 

Mike Buckley, CASAC, Director of Operations
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Mike worked as Intake Coordinator for Dynamic Youth Community (Dynamite) for 9 years, where he was challenged with convincing young addicts to enter treatment and walk away from the destructive paths they were on. He spent many of his days in both the public and private school systems, speaking to young people about the perils of addiction, and reaching out to those already using. He formerly served as Chairman of the Brooklyn Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. The committee is a collective of providers and consumers that meet monthly, with representation from both OASAS and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. They discuss the issues that affect accessibility to treatment and public education. Mike is graduate of The Resource Training Center and prior to taking the position as Director of Training, taught for TRTC for six years. After just under two years, Mike was promoted to Director of Operations, where he oversees the daily operations of the agency.
   
 

Donna Nelson, CASAC-T, Marketing Director
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Donna is a 2006 graduate of TRTC and has been on the team in various functions, including the marketing of our programs. Donna is well-known for her high-energy personality in the addiction field.  For years she has volunteered her time in Domestic Violence shelters assisting victims of DV in sensitive issues that impact their lives. Prior to TRTC she worked in supervisory positions, overseeing a construction firm, agency accounting, and several other functions to ensure smooth operations.

 
 
 

Valerie Lyons, MSED, CRC, Director of Placement

  
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Valerie has consulted as the Vocational Counselor with The Resource Training Center since 2005.  She is the Assistant Project Director for the Hunter College /OASAS Work-Study Project and has worked in the Addiction field for 16 years. Valerie worked for Samaritan Village, Inc. for 10 years as Director of Vocational and Educational Services. She is involved with many addiction related organizations and sits on the Board for the Institute for Professional Development in the Addictions

  

Danielle Vaccaro, Financial Coordinator

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Danielle has been working with The Resource Training Center for over a year. She previously worked with AG Edwards as a NASDAQ Clerk, inputting trades for several stock brokers. She has extensive experience in administrative functions. She brings The Resource Training Center a wealth of knowlege in office operations.
   
 

Audra Gelardi, CASAC-T: DDP Coordinator
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Audra is a graduate of The Resource Training Center. She coordinates the Drinking Driver Program, working closely with the DDP trainers to assist the DDP enrollees in fulfilling their obligation, and to take away valuable information from the experience. The hope is that they do not repeat the same dangerous error in judgement that put both themselves and others in harm's way. Audra brought with her over 10 years of prior administrative experience in several modalities in both the mental health and addictions field.
   
 

Joan Boyce, CASAC-T, Recovery Coach: Office Manager
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Joan, a graduate of The Resource Training Center, joined our staff as Office Manager in April of 2010. She brings with her over 30 years of experience in Computers, Finance and Marketing.  Aside from her duties as Office Manager, Joan has trained several of our Job Readiness Program classes and is a certified Recovery Coach and has received training to teach the Prime for Life curriculum.  Joan is a resident of Bay Ridge where she lives with her daughter, Donna.

 
   
 

Louis Holbeck, CASAC-T, Recovery Coach Intake: NYC Campus
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Louis is a graduate of The Resource Training Center.  He worked at Staten Island Developmental Disabilities (S.I.D.D.S.O) for 7 years, provided personal care, treatment and rehabilitation to clients in a community based setting. He also worked as a para-professional at Eden II which provides schooling for individuals with autism.  After graduating from TRTC, he accepted an internship at Camelot Counseling Center of Staten Island. Louis currently works as the Intake Coordinator of our NYC campus.
   
 

Joseph Colon, CASAC-T, Recovery Coach Intake: Brooklyn Campus
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Joe is a graduate of The Resource Training Center. Currently he works as the Intake Coordinator for the Brooklyn Site. He is Bi-lingual and works with the DDP program helping the Spanish motorists.    He recently became a Certified Recovery Coach.  Joe also worked as a Criminal Justice Case manager for Bridge Back to Life where he assisted Clients with housing issues, Medicaid allotments, and case management.  He also served as a liaison with The New York State Division of Parole. 
   
 

 
   
   

There are over 15 other experienced educators that work in consultation with The Resource Training Center!