Healing at the Speed of Excellence

Our Team

Meet Our Instructors

At Velocity Health Group, we operate with an “Instructor First” mentality—meaning that regardless of title—CEO, clinician, chef, or administrator—we are all instructors first. This reflects our belief that every interaction is an opportunity to teach, model, and reinforce the behaviors, values, and life skills our adolescents need to succeed.

This standard is supported by the level of training every team member receives. We invest heavily in developing our people—equipping them with the tools, frameworks, and consistency needed to lead effectively in real-time environments. Our training ensures that regardless of role, each team member is prepared to show up with clarity, confidence, and alignment in how we engage, redirect, and support our youth.

Being “Instructor First” means showing up with intention, consistency, and accountability—demonstrating what healthy relationships, communication, and decision-making look like in every interaction. It ensures that our entire team is aligned in purpose: not just providing care, but actively shaping outcomes through daily engagement, leadership, and example.

Chris Perkins

Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder

Rod Andrus, LCSW

Chief Clinical Officer & Co-Founder

Dr. George Thompson

Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder

Karli Smith

Founding Director - Business Development & Admissions

Tod Kellen

Business Office Manager

Jadier Rivera

Director of Human Performance

Clayton Bailey

Medical Consultant

Doug Young

Program Director

Brandon Blackmore

Lead Instructor

Yolanda Duarte

Family Coach

Kaitlyn Lehman

Family Coach

Jackson Douglas

Therapist

Mary De Michele

Special Advisor

Kyle Blevins

Registered Nurse

Bre Alexander

Registered Nurse

Brigham Cook

Executive Chef

Connor Shaw

Sous Chef

Tod Heape

Facilities Director

Testimonials

What People Are Saying About Velocity

“The adolescent behavioral health space has a scale problem. Bigger systems, smaller humans. What gets lost is the middle, where clinical depth meets actual relationship. Velocity is being built in that middle. Families will feel the difference, which is ultimately the only metric that matters.”

Matthew Ray Scott Principal/Managing Director at FEED The Agency.

"Velocity is the level of care clinicians often reference when an adolescent's needs exceed what standard programs can hold, but that has rarely existed in practice. It provides a place for young people who have historically been denied treatment or labeled "too complex" to finally receive appropriate care."

Alex Mufson LCSW Canary House | Integrative Healing Practice

"Velocity is emblematic of a broader and much-needed shift in adolescent behavioral health toward highly individualized, relationship-centered care. Programs that combine this level of clinical depth, staffing, and family involvement remain non-existent. Models like this are essential if we are to meaningfully improve short- and long-term outcomes for adolescents with complex behavioral health needs.

Professor James M Elliott PT, PhD, FAPTA Academic Director The Kolling Institute

Traditional residential treatment models have struggled to keep pace with the evolving and complex needs of today’s adolescents. Many of these approaches were not designed for the level of acuity, family involvement, and individualized care now required. Programs like Velocity are critical to helping the field evolve, offering more responsive, relationship-centered, and clinically sophisticated care. This kind of innovation is essential to better support adolescents and their families in meaningful, lasting ways."

Shandra Carter Executive Director Texas Juvenile Justice Department

"Velocity is setting a new standard for how we think about treating high-acuity adolescents and supporting families through that process. As a former special forces operator and executive director of an adolescent residential treatment center, Velocity's approach is setting a new standard of care."

Lt. Col (Ret) Joe Barnard former Executive Director Adolescent RTC

"I deeply respect the vision Chris Perkins brings to this work. His commitment to raising the bar for professionalism, paired with his belief that even the most complex cases deserve thoughtful, innovative care, is both timely and necessary. Velocity Health Group represents the kind of bold thinking our field needs—and that families deserve."

Danny Frazer Operating Partner, Open Sky Wilderness Therapy and Gain The Ridge Consulting

"The residential treatment world does not need more therapeutic boarding schools. It needs specialists who can deal with high acuity clients in a relational but controlled environment. Velocity is what the treatment landscape needs."

Dr. Ken Huey CEO The Hope Group

"Velocity Health Group represents a much-needed evolution in adolescent behavioral healthcare. Their relationship-centered, highly individualized approach, combined with exceptional clinical leadership and unwavering compassion, creates life-changing opportunities for adolescents who have exhausted nearly every other option. By redefining long-term inpatient care with dignity, innovation, and accountability, Velocity is not only transforming lives but setting a new benchmark for what effective adolescent treatment should be."

Lt. Col (Ret) Mike Smith Former special forces operator and current Chief of Staff - Darkhive

Let’s Begin the Journey Together

Ready to take the first step toward healing and growth? Let’s work together to create a brighter future for your family.