News ReleaseNORTON, Kansas-National addiction treatment provider Valley Hope today announced the completion of its new leadership team.“Valley Hope’s new leadership team brings deep experience and expertise from the addiction treatment and recovery field and are well-positioned to carry our important mission of helping patients, families and communities,” Dan McCormick, president and CEO of Valley Hope, said.The following leaders join Valley Hope’s executive leadership team:Brien-Kevin Walker, CPA, Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer&nbsp;– Walker will lead Valley Hope's financial planning, analysis, accounting and reporting. With 32 years of award-winning experience in the healthcare industry, Walker has served public accounting and executive leadership roles. For 19 years Walker served a diverse range of mental health organizations including behavioral, psychiatric, addictions, outpatient services, physician practices and aftercare services. A certified public accountant, Walker earned an MBA concentrating in accounting information systems and decision sciences from the University of South Florida.Shelley Plemons, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Patient Access – Plemons will oversee patient access, treatment referrals, utilization review, business development, marketing and contracts. With more than 25 years of experience in the behavioral healthcare field, Plemons brings expertise in business development protocols, startup operations, sales and marketing management, training and coaching. She has previously served as corporate vice president of business development with Perimeter Healthcare and through her consulting firm, Strategic Sales Solutions, advised top addiction recovery programs, behavioral health organizations and managed care groups both nationally and internationally. Plemons has also worked with Charter Medical, training thousands of employees and launching customer service systems throughout the system. She holds a master’s in counseling from Amber University and a Speech Communication degree from Texas Christian University.Patrick Hall, Senior Vice President of Operations, South/West Region – Dr. Hall will oversee the operations of Valley Hope treatment centers in Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and Arizona. Previously, he served Valley Hope as vice president of clinical services, vice president of research and innovation, and interim executive vice president. Dr. Hall is a licensed clinical psychologist and earned a doctorate in clinical psychology from Wheaton College. He has received extensive training at leading health centers including Mt. Sinai Hospital, Edward Hines VA Medical Center, the University of Chicago Medical Center and the Iowa City VA Health Care System.Javier Ley, Senior Vice President of Operations, Midwest Region – Dr. Ley will oversee the operations of Valley Hope treatment centers in Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. He previously served Valley Hope as Program Director. Prior to Valley Hope, Dr. Ley worked at the Hazelden-Betty Ford Foundation, supervising clinical operations of residential addiction treatment in Center City, Minnesota. Javier has also been instrumental in leading projects that introduced evidence-based addiction treatment in Nicaragua, while also influencing its implementation in Honduras. He has served as Co-Chair for the International Certification and Reciprocity Consortium (IC&amp;RC, the world’s largest credentialing body of addiction professionals, and their credential for alcohol and drug counselors. Dr. Ley has also been involved with the IC&amp;RC as a subject matter expert in reviewing quality standards for addiction counselors as well as in the development of the examinations utilized for international certification and state licensure. Dr. Ley is a licensed clinical addiction counselor and licensed professional counselor, with a doctorate in professional counseling, a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling and a bachelor’s degree in finance.

Valley Hope names new leadership