Introducing the RCU Team:
Photo Credit: Renee Venisky, Immaginee Photography; 7-2023; Images taken at ArtisanWorks, 565 Blossom Rd., Rochester NY 14610
Amanda Toal (Trainer/Training Director); Erin Pownall Burns (Trainer); Lori Drescher (Founder, RCU and Trainer); Rae Kehrli (Trainer/Admin)
Not pictured: Justin McNeal (Trainer)
“This training was by far the best virtual training I have attended. Truly the trainers were beyond supportive and exemplified to the max the skills of a recovery coach.”
Lori Drescher
Lori Drescher, Founder, Recovery Coach University (RCU); CARC, RCP, RCPF, Member-MINT (Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers)
Lori is a Recovery Coach practitioner; she is a NYCB Certified Addiction Recovery Coach (CARC), a Family Recovery Coach, a Recovery Coach Trainer, and a parent in long term recovery from the effects of loving and living with an adult child who suffered from Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). Lori lost her son Jonathan to fentanyl poisoning in 2021.
Lori founded Recovery Coach University in 2016 as a result of her personal experience of watching her son suffer from the stigma, persecution and discriminatory practices in treating one with Substance Use Disorder. The practices were so different from other health care conditions and help was very difficult to find. Help for families was practically nonexistent. RCU was one of the first Training Organizations in NYS to focus exclusively on training people and family members with “lived experience” and a desire to help others become educated and skilled in effective and compassionate care based on sound coaching principles and client-centered skills.
She is a designated ‘Best Practice Trainer’ by FOR-NY; NYCB PWI authorized Trainer; ASAP-NYCB approved Trainer, and Trainer Registry Governance Committee Member. She is an approved OASAS professional development Trainer and approved by CCAR to train all CCAR Programs (RCPF). One of Lori’s proudest accomplishments is her membership in the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT), achieved in 2020.
Lori has coached families and individuals since early 2014, speaks publicly regularly, and advocates across NYS and nationally for improved access to prevention, treatment, harm reduction and community recovery supports. Her mission is to eradicate the stigma and shame of addiction in families, to empower families to achieve their own recovery, to advocate for vitally needed community recovery supports and to help educate the public on harm reduction. She passionately advocates for progressive strategies for addressing and ending the opioid epidemic including by declaring a Public Health Emergency in NYS. Her professional career includes 25 years of executive and management coaching, training, and experiential learning design.
To learn more about RCU’s training offerings and various Certification Opportunities, see the ‘Trainings’ tab on this website or Contact Lori by email.
RCU Classroom Photo (pre-COVID)
Deirdre, Keith and Lori playing at their pre-COVID training room and home-away-from-home, ArtisanWorks
Mom and Founder, Recovery Coach University, tells CBS why her son didn’t need to die.
Podcast: RECOVERY…The Hero’s Journey
RADICAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE IMPOSSIBLE: A MOTHER'S JOURNEY
June 15, 2021; Hosted by Dr. Patricia Halligan
A Letter to My Younger Self (before Substance Use Disorder Hijacked my Family)
Caron Foundation Unsung Hero Award Recipient, 11-2019
“The facilitators were incredible. They taught the material in a way that was clear, relatable, and rooted in real authenticity and vulnerability. You can feel that they don’t just teach this stuff, they live it.
The content itself was powerful and gave me practical tools I can bring directly into my work as a peer advocate. I left the training feeling more confident, more connected to the work, and with a deeper understanding of how to support people without trying to push or direct their path.
RCU has a way of teaching that hits both the heart and the mind, and I’m really grateful I got to be a part of it. This training is going to be a huge asset in how I show up for the people I serve.”
Keith Greer, LCSW, PCC, PRC
Keith Greer, Trainer & Partner
Keith leverages over 37 years of experience as an Executive, Life and Recovery Coach, School Social Worker, Family Therapist, Addictions Specialist, Speaker and Trainer toward his compassionate, creative and influential work with individuals, families, organizations and businesses.In 2016 Keith partnered with Lori Drescher and RCU with a focus on bringing high quality Professional Coaching Training to those that are interested in pursuing the New York State Recovery Coach Certifications (CRPA and CARC) as well as the growing number of Peer Recovery Professional Certifications across the country.
A graduate of The Syracuse University School of Social Work and The Institute For Life Coach Training, Keith is recognized by The International Coach Federation (I.C.F.) as a Professional Certified Coach (P.C.C.). Keith is also recognized as a Certified Progressive Recovery Coach by The Center for Progressive Recovery.
“This training exceeded all of my expectations!! Content was useful in more ways than I can count.
Lori & Keith are an absolutely dynamic training duo, Thank you!”
Erin Pownall Burns, Trainer
Erin joined the RCU Trainer Team in 2021, when RCU needed to expand its Trainer “bench” to accommodate the growing virtual training practice, post-COVID. She is an enthusiastic, hands-on, highly engaging trainer with a lengthy list of lived experiences and expertise credentials that combined make her an asset to the RCU Team and to all who train with her.
Erin is also a community activist and self-proclaimed enthusiast. She runs a series of micro businesses that all focus on community wellness, collaborative artistic expression, and social entrepreneurship. She attended FLCC for human services and went on to Brockport to study substance use disorder and then social work on the graduate level. Though she considers herself a lifelong learner, Erin is primarily a do-er. You can find her speaking, working, training, and being relentless both behind the scenes and in rooms like this.
“Erin cultivates a really great atmosphere that allows us to speak freely and ask questions; this was a great training, thanks so much!”
Erin Pownall Burns, MSW, CARC, RCP, RCPF
Rae Kehirl, CRPA, CARC, RCP, RCPF
Rae Kehirl, Trainer
Rae began their journey in the recovery community in October 2019 as a Certified Recovery Peer Advocate (CRPA), where they walked alongside individuals seeking recovery and created safe spaces for healing. In this role, Rae helped bring peer services to a recovery high school, led outreach initiatives, facilitated an LGBTQ+ peer support group, and encouraged wellness through community hikes. They also invested deeply in professional growth by attending national conferences and trainings.
These experiences laid the foundation for Rae’s expanded work as a Recovery Coach Professional/Facilitator (RCP/f) and Certified Addiction Recovery Coach (CARC). Their passion for recovery has taken them beyond local work—most recently serving as an international speaker in India with NAADAC, where they shared knowledge and exchanged ideas on global approaches to recovery.
As a person in sustained recovery, Rae knows firsthand the power of connection, accountability, and safe community. This lived and professional experience is the heart of their private practice, The Journeyers Recovery Coaching & Wellness, where Rae provides compassionate, strengths-based coaching for individuals in recovery, those seeking a path forward, and helping professionals who give so much of themselves to others.
“Teacher was great and the materials shared were clear and useful. ”
Amanda Toal, Trainer
Amanda joined Recovery Coach University in January 2023 as an Apprentice Trainer and quickly advanced through her ASAP-NYCB Trainer Registry apprenticeship. By September 2023 she stepped fully into her Trainer role and has continued to expand her impact at RCU. Today, Amanda serves as Training Director, supporting facilitator development, quality assurance, and the continued evolution of RCU’s training programs and participant experience.
A New York–based peer professional, advocate, and “warrior woman in recovery,” Amanda brings a powerful blend of lived experience, professional skill, and deep compassion to every training she delivers. She is rooted in the belief that “we not only recover — we soar,” and she strives to help future peer professionals discover their own strengths and voices.
Amanda holds credentials as a Certified Addiction Recovery Coach (CARC), Recovery Coach Professional (RCP), Recovery Coach Facilitator Professional (RCPF), and is a FOR-NY Best Practice Trainer. Outside of RCU, she is an entrepreneur, digital media specialist, and international best-selling author dedicated to amplifying recovery stories and building stronger community supports.
When she’s not facilitating or designing curriculum, Amanda volunteers with local organizations and leads her private practice, where she offers individual, family, and professional recovery coaching rooted in compassion, empowerment, and person-centered care.
“I have taken many classes with RCU now for years. This is my second recertification for my CRPA and CARC and RCU is the only organization I would recommend and continue to take ongoing education classes with. They are easily accessible, prompt, fair and accommodating. You don’t have to worry if you’re taking the correct course or if it’s acceptable for your state’s certification board. RCU has a very informative website that spells it all out for you! Love that! Plus, every instructor actually cares and wants you to succeed! Very refreshing to be a part of their classes that they offer and the education and insight their instructors bring!! Special “Bravo” to Amanda T.! You’re truly an inspiration to all. You embody the peer mentality!! ”
Amanda Toal, AAS, CARC, RCP, RCPF
Justin McNeal, NCPRSS, CPRS-FE, CPS
Justin McNeal, Trainer
…a person in long-term recovery, Justin is a Nationally Certified Peer Recovery Specialist and a Certified Peer Support Specialist. Justin is passionate about harm reduction / safe use and eradicating the biases that hurt people who use drugs. He advocates for access to harm reduction services and treating people with respect, compassion and dignity. Justin trained with Jim Wuelfing and Dean LeMire, both pioneers in the Harm Reduction Movement. Justin is a member of the ASAP-NYCB Trainer Registry and is approved to facilitate Harm Reduction Pathway training for Recovery Coach University.
“Justin was a great facilitator, this course was very helpful”
“This training has been an eye-opener filled with skills, knowledge, experience, and love. The biggest takeaway is to appreciate the person in front of you, because you never know the journey they’re on. The staff were a constant, helpful reminder of that message and did an amazing job keeping us focused and on track with the topics at hand. I truly appreciate it.”