Meet The Team
The Minds Behind the Mission — Meet the dedicated team driving Via Positiva’s commitment to clinical excellence, cultural integrity, and sustainable behavioral health innovation across the nation.
Sylvia Barela
National Managing Director
Jim Clarkson
Chair Person and Founder
Tommy Valdez
TIPP Principal and Founder
Leonard Kincaid
Behavioral Health Consultant
Kris Ericson
Independent Consultant
Brendalyn Batchelor
Unified Mindfulness Teacher and Trainer
Chris Botten
Behavioral Health Consultant
Clarence Jordan
Behavioral Health Strategic Consultant
Sylvia Barela
Sylvia Barela, MBA, who has served as National Managing Director for Via Positiva since April 1 of 2022, was born and raised in New Mexico. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from New Mexico State University and a Master’s in Business Administration degree with a Healthcare Concentration from the University of Phoenix. Sylvia has dedicated her twenty-four year career to behavioral health. She has twenty years of experience working with three non-profit residential treatment facilities in Colorado and New Mexico. She spent four years doing behavioral health consulting for four New Mexico Behavioral Health Providers, helping them navigate Intensive Outpatient Treatment certification with the State of New Mexico Human Services and Behavioral Health Services Division.
For sixteen years Sylvia Barela served in various leadership positions for the Santa Fe Recovery Center (SFRC), a statewide substance use disorder treatment program providing integrated care to a population with multifaceted behavioral health, mental health, and physical health disorders. From 2015 and 2022, Sylvia served as Chief Executive Officer of SFRC.
As CEO of SFRC, Sylvia led the organization in significant growth and expansion to ten times its capacity and revenue between 2017 and 2022. By 2022, it became the largest residential substance use disorder treatment program in the state of New Mexico with an exponentially increased budget, and capacity to serve ten times the number of clients as it did in 2015. Under her leadership SFRC expanded services to provide a continuum of care including detoxification, short-term and extended residential treatment, recovery housing, transitional living, supportive employment, an array of outpatient and medication assisted treatment services, gender specific services, and a women and children’s residential treatment program where young children can enter treatment with their mothers. Sylvia is committed to the support and improvement of behavioral health and integrated healthcare services, strives to make an impact in policy, funding, organizational management, and treatment innovations, and is dedicated to being of service and making a positive difference.
Jim Clarkson
Jim Clarkson, MA, LADAC, Chair Person and Founder of the Via Positiva Family of Companies. Jim serves on numerous boards and advisory roles to the nation’s leading healthcare providers. He serves as Senior Adviser to BayMark Health Services, the nation’s leading recovery oriented, trauma informed Medication Assisted Opioid Use Disorder Treatment provider headquartered in Lewisville, Texas. He is Chairman of the National Advisory Board at Ensoftek, the proprietor of DrCloudEHR, in Beaverton, Oregon. He previously served as a National Vice President with ValueOptions, Inc. (now Beacon Health Options), the nation’s largest private behavioral health and wellness managed care organization. With ValueOptions, Jim was responsible for enterprises in emerging market areas, managed state substance abuse delivery systems and served as an internal and external substance use disorder subject matter expert. Previously, Jim both led behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment provider agencies and worked as a clinician for many years. Jim provided consultation and training nationally and internationally including for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment, the National Association for Addiction Professionals, the Association for Behavioral Health and Wellness as well as many other state and federal agencies. Jim is a national presenter, trainer and subject matter expert in the business of behavioral health and led the National Addiction Professional Business Learning Collaborative, the Recovery Business Professionals Business Learning Collaborative, and served on the SAMHSA Recovery to Practice Initiative.
In addition to his role as a managed care executive, Jim has worked and consulted with programs across the country focusing on the connection between spirituality and wellness, mental health, addiction recovery, and financial literacy. He managed the Healing Circle at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico and has worked with pueblos and tribes around the country. Jim has served as President of the New Mexico Recovery Professionals Alliance, is a Certified NIATx Change Leader (Network for the Improvement of Addiction Treatment), was a Key Supervisor for the Matrix Institute, is a Certified Mental Health First Aid Trainer and for 35 years has helped Fortune 500 companies and public healthcare systems create environments for recovery, sustainability and positive therapeutic outcomes.
Jim has assisted three national insurance companies integrate and implement opioid treatment services, including designing the reimbursement options, service definitions and combinations of services. He was also the lead on winning one of the very first two CMS Innovation Awards for behavioral health during their initial awarding of the innovation grants. The project implemented was to develop systems of care using peers to help navigate transitions between providers on a person’s treatment and recovery plan. Jim also led the department that was responsible for the entire SUD system of care in NM for 5 years between 2005-2010. He has worked with virtually every pueblo and tribe in NM, including the Navajo Nation.
Tommy Valdez
Tommy Valdez, TIPP Principle and Founder. Tommy brings over 25 years of corporate business development experience and has served as a leader and administrator in behavioral health for the past 13 years. His creative, kind and inspirational efforts have led to profound systems change and transformation at the national level in behavioral health, peer support and person-centered approaches, creating environments for humane, supportive engagement and retention, and positive therapeutic outcomes.
Tommy Valdez, Principle and Co-Founder of the Via Positiva Family of Companies. Tommy brings over 25 years of corporate business development experience and has served as a leader and administrator in behavioral health for the past 13 years. His creative, kind and inspirational efforts have led to profound systems change and transformation at the national level in behavioral health, peer support and person-centered approaches, creating environments for humane, supportive engagement and retention, and positive therapeutic outcomes.
Leonard Kincaid
Leonard Kincaid is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Houston Recovery Center.
The Houston Recovery Center was established by the City of Houston as an innovative solution to the costly problem of public intoxication. Prior to the Houston Recovery Center, Leonard spent 23 years at The Council on Recovery in both clinical work and program administration. He worked in a variety of leadership roles including Director of Operations, Deputy Director, Executive Vice President, Chief Operation Officer, and Chief Government Relations Officer. His experience in the field of addiction and mental health spans over thirty years.
Leonard has a successful history of promoting positive social change by developing and working with community-based initiatives. Most recently, he developed Houston Recovery Initiative, a recovery-oriented system of care coalition. Its objective is to increase resources needed to support people with substance use disorders. Leonard also co-founded and chaired the Coalition for Substance Abuse Services representing 60 Treatment and Recovery service provider organizations in Houston.
Educated in Texas and Mississippi, Leonard has a Master’s in Business Administration, a Master’s in Counseling, a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor, and a graduate of the American Leadership Forum, Criminal Justice (Class 3 03/01/2012). During his career, Leonard has served on several boards and advisory boards focusing on mental health and addiction including the Network of Behavioral Health Providers, Association of Substance Abuse Providers, the Local Mental Health Authority of Harris County Houston METRO Police Training Advisory Board, Salvation Army Advisory Board, and Harris County Resident Advisory Board.
Kris Ericson
Kris Ericson, PhD is an independent consultant who works with preeminent clients in behavioral health, long-term care, and education across the country. Dr. Ericson’s work includes assisting states, counties, health plans, providers, and managed care organizations in the redesign and implementation of systems/programs, mentoring emerging leaders, technical writing and research, education and training, gap analyses and strategic planning, conference/meeting planning, and facilitation of leadership groups at all levels.
Dr. Ericson designed a children’s outcomes system of care for a managed care company and has worked as part of a subject matter expert team for the US Department of Justice. She is frequently called on by colleagues for insight into projects they are directing. She also has extensive experience in training and is a published author. In addition to numerous previous work experiences, Dr. Ericson served as CEO of The College of Behavioral Health Leadership for more than a decade.
Her 40+-year career in human services includes experiences as a clinician, administrator, advocate, policy maker, and systems designer. She is passionate about improving the health care system to assure that all people have access to meet identified and individualized needs.
Dr. Ericson lives in Albuquerque, NM and is an active community volunteer. She completed her baccalaureate studies in psychology at Bethany College, Kansas. Her graduate studies were undertaken at The Pennsylvania State University resulting in a master’s in community psychology and the PhD in public administration, with a concentration on health policy. Dr. Ericson participates in several professional societies to continually inform her work.
Brendalyn Batchelor
Brendalyn resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she finds joy in supporting, nourishing, and inspiring others to realize their full potential. She is a Unified Mindfulness Teacher and Trainer, a licensed mental health counselor, ordained Unity minister, spiritual director, HeartMath Coach, and whole plant-food lifestyle coach. She embraces universal spiritual practices and principles in her life and in her work.
For more information, visit CoachableYou.org.
Chris Botten
Chris Botten, MBA, is the Chief Executive Officer of Via Positiva Center for Behavioral Health Innovation (CBHI), where he leads a national movement to transform behavioral health through relational care, spiritual integration, peer leadership, and systems innovation. With a strong foundation in finance, operations, and strategy, Chris brings visionary leadership to CBHI’s multi-product innovation platform focused on systemic impact and sustainable growth.
Previously, Chris served as a Senior Project Manager and Technical Assistance Lead for behavioral health providers in Los Angeles County, supporting large-scale initiatives around value-based care, fiscal reform, and operational transformation. Before his expansive experience in the Public Health realm, Chris served as the Director of Operations for one of the largest non-profit Drug Medi-Cal treatment providers in Los Angeles County. As the founder of CMB Consultants, LLC, he continues to advise non-profit organizations across California, offering deep expertise in compliance, revenue maximization, and organizational development.
Chris holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Business from California State University, Channel Islands, and is widely recognized for his ability to bridge financial discipline with human-centered innovation in both the public and nonprofit sectors. Chris leads CBHI’s product innovation and strategic growth efforts, focusing on healing systems, building equity, and creating sustainable behavioral health infrastructure.
