Peter Valdez

Biography

Peter Valdez joined the SHRS Office of the Dean in 2025, providing executive-level support to the dean and the SHRS leadership team. Valdez partners with leadership on schoolwide initiatives and projects, reporting and other activities as well as being the liaison between high-level administrators and internal and external stakeholders.

Before his time at SHRS, he served as the court administrator of the Downtown Austin Community Court (DACC), which opened in October 1999 to address quality-of-life and public-order offenses in the downtown Austin, Texas area, utilizing a restorative justice court model. In 2012, Valdez led the creation and implementation of DACC’s Intensive Case Management (ICM) program, which employs a comprehensive, client-centered and housing-focused approach to serving individuals experiencing homelessness.

Before moving to Austin, Valdez resided in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where he worked as a crisis therapist for children and adolescents at a community mental health agency. While in Las Cruces, Valdez also facilitated court-mandated men’s groups with La Casa, Inc., a program for domestic violence victims and their families. Throughout his career, he has served as a field instructor and supervisor for over 30 student interns from the University of Texas at Austin, St. Edward’s University and Texas State University.