His duty stations included Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri; Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado; Fort Knox, Kentucky; Wurzburg, Germany; Fort Belvoir, VA; and Bagram Air Force Base, Afghanistan, where he served in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Valdez began his VA career in May 2004 at the VA Portland Health Care System as a biomedical equipment support specialist. After returning to school and earning a Bachelors degree in English from Portland State University, he was selected to attend the Army-Baylor University Graduate Program in Health and Business Administration as part of the VA’s Graduate Healthcare Administration Training Program (GHAPT). Valdez’s previous position was Administrative Director of the Primary Care Division at the VA Portland Health Care System (July 2018 – December 2020). Prior to that he served as the Supervisory Health System Specialist leading the Systems Redesign Program at the VA Portland Health Care System (May 2015 to July 2018). Valdez also served as the Supervisor of Biomedical Engineering (April 2011 to June 2013).

Valdez holds a Masters in Health Administration and Masters in Business Administration from Baylor University and an undergraduate degree in English with Minors in Writing and Film from Portland State University. Valdez is a graduate of the VHA’s Health Care Leadership Development Program (2017) and is a VHA Certified Mentor (2016) and VHA Certified Black Belt in Lean Healthcare (2018).

Valdez is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and serves on the Board of Oregon Society of Healthcare Executives.