Phoenix Training: Addiction & Connection to Treatment

John Becker Jr. has experience as a police officer, clinician, outreach professional, program developer and director. John possesses a personal understanding of substance abuse among first responders, having overcome addiction in his own life. He is the founder of Guardian Recovery Services, a private practice that provides counseling to First Responders struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues. John holds a B.S. in Behavioral Health Counseling and a Master’s in Human Services. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and has obtained Certification as an Advanced Alcohol & Drug Counselor (CAADC). He is the Clinical Director of the Montgomery County (PA) Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team and is certified by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF) in individual and group interventions. John is a Certified Trauma Responder (CTR) and is recognized as a Certified Employee Assistance Professional (CEAP) and Substance Abuse Professional (SAP). John regularly provides training, education and consultation to local, state and federal organizations throughout the United States, on topics such as stress, trauma, wellness, mental health, suicide, and substance abuse, with a focus on members of the first responder community.

Bill Burdette Served 25 years with the Pennsylvania State Police. He started in patrol, transitioning to Troop Vice and PSP Drug Strike Force, criminal Investigation and State Fire Marshal. He spent 11 years as Supervisor of the Eastern K-9 Section. He was sworn in as a Federal Task Force Officer assigned to a DEA HIDTA interdiction team. After retiring Burdette remained active in law enforcement serving a local university, and as a sworn police officer with local school districts.

Forzato began his law enforcement career at the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office in 1986. In 1992, Forzato transferred to the Narcotic Enforcement Team and for the next 27 years, worked in undercover roles and investigated drug traffickers, pursuing them locally, nationally and internationally. As a Lieutenant, Forzato supervised undercover detectives and 480 local police officers who served in a drug task force. Forzato led more than 100 wiretaps where his team seized thousands of pounds of drugs including kilograms of heroin and fentanyl. Forzato was sworn-in as a federal agent in the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. In 2017, Forzato joined Pennsylvania’s Attorney General as Deputy Chief of Statewide Drug Initiatives where he led new initiatives addressing the drug overdose crisis in Pennsylvania.

Forzato testified as an expert in drug abuse, trafficking, and wiretapping in local, state and federal courts. Forzato has interviewed hundreds of drug dealers, suppliers and users. Forzato remains up to date on the current drug-trafficking trends statewide, nationally, and internationally.

Forzato trained thousands of local, state and federal law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and public health officials. Forzato now directs the Center for Addiction and Recovery Education at Saint Joseph’s University and leads its Phoenix Training for first responders.

Bryan’s personal journey has been shaped by his service in the United States Marine Corps, as
well as his experiences as a firefighter and then a police officer/ detective. He transitioned from
those front-line roles in 2019 and became the director of an addiction treatment program for
veterans and first responders. This position resonated deeply with his own recovery journey,
which began in September 2010.
His path to recovery included the benefit of treatment, which ignited his passion for helping
others facing similar struggles. With an understanding of the unique challenges faced by
veterans and first responders, especially regarding the cumulative effects of trauma, he has
committed his career to providing support and guidance.
Bryan graduated from Alvernia University with a degree in Addictions and Mental Health, where
he was honored with the George Vogel Award for excellence in academia. He completed an
associate counselor’s program where he honed the ability to blend passion with competence and
an understanding of the need to be culturally competent in working with clients. He earned a Master's Degree in Counseling and Mental Health from Gwynedd Mercy University.

Bryan is a member of the PA Counseling Association, the American Counseling Association, and the Bucks County NAACP.

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Chuck Ondo served his country and commonwealth as a U.S. Marine and Pennsylvania State Trooper for a combined total of 16 years. His service included being an Ammunition Specialist and EOD Technician in the Corps and his State Police career included Uniform Trooper, FTO, Firearms Instructor, OC Instructor, Undercover Detective with Troop K Vice, and a Sniper on the State Police SERT Team. He retired as a Corporal from PSP in 1999. 

Since then, he has over a decade of experience in working with various organizations such as, AA, NA, Celebrate Recovery and was recently nominated for a National Excellence Award for the Pennsylvania Veterans Leadership Program. He is a founding member of Revival Today Veterans Brigade where he has worked closely with Veterans coming out of Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Treatment. In his spare time, he owns and operates a Barbershop called Valor Men's Grooming in Pittsburgh and also enjoys taking part in a number of movies, shows and TV series that are filmed locally. He has been featured in background and stunt work on Netflix, Showtime, CBS, Paramount and Apple TV. 

Chuck Pugh retired after years serving at the York County Prison in South Central Pennsylvania for 25 years. He has been an adjunct instructor to in-service staff and new cadets in York’s Basic Training Academy since 2011. Chuck has trained other staff from various corrections locations to be Firearms Instructors for PA DOC. He has instructed 30 individual modules of training courses ranging from Firearms to Stress Management. Chuck is passionate about bettering the tools and equipment for his fellow officers through innovative ideas. He has co-founded the York County Prison Honor Guard and during his tenure was the Assistant Team Leader where he utilized his attention to detail in meticulously training the unit along with exemplifying the core values. Chuck has experienced multiple traumas in his career and personal life which resulted in him seeking counseling and a regular weekly support group to get to the root of his own additive behaviors. He is an advocate for his fellow corrections officers in their search for healing.

After 41 years in the Philadelphia Fire Department, Mike Yaeger retired as its Battalion Chief. Yaeger's service started as a firefighter in North Philadelphia, a promotion to Lieutenant where he served in West Philadelphia, and another promotion to Captain in 1994 where he had the honor of leading its elite Rescue 1. In 2008, Yaeger became Battalion Chief.

After recognizing alarming numbers of suicides in the fire service, Yaeger developed a suicide prevention initiative for the department. This led to Yaeger's work with Local 22, the Philadelphia Firefighters' & Paramedics' Union, on its health and wellness program where he assisted in the development of peer support initiatives. Yaeger's work includes supporting firefighters and others at the Livengrin Foundation First Responders Addiction Treatment program, known as FRAT. There, Yaeger helped develop a drug and alcohol program that trained more than 20,000 first responders on post traumatic stress and substance use disorder prevention. This specialized training was delivered at every one of their 63 stations and to all cadets.