Executive Director/President
1-800-231-7796 ext. 122
emily@amigoslink.org
Emily has served as the Executive Director/President of AMIGOS since 1998. Her history with AMIGOS, however, began long before her current position. During high school, Emily served as a Volunteer in Guatemala in 1969 and in Colombia in 1970. In 1971 she was selected to be the first female to serve on AMIGOS Project Staff, an important milestone in AMIGOS history. Her Project Staff experience spanned 1971 – 73, with service in Nicaragua and Paraguay. In 1991 - 96, Emily once again became active with AMIGOS by serving on the International Board of Directors. She was honored by AMIGOS in 1996 with the Veteran Service Award.
Emily’s academic and career choices were greatly influenced by her early AMIGOS experiences. Through AMIGOS, she discovered her love for public health and public service. Emily was graduated from The University of Texas at Austin (Bachelor of Arts, Latin American Studies) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Master of Public Health, Health Behavior and Health Education).
Prior to her current position, Emily worked in Austin, Texas, where she held numerous leadership positions in health and human services with the State of Texas. She served eight years as the Executive Director of the Texas Cancer Council, a highly acclaimed state agency responsible for promoting collaborative planning and program development for cancer prevention and control. In the 1980s, she worked as a Health Policy Analyst for the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, and as the Executive Director of the landmark Legislative Task Force on AIDS. Emily began her professional career as a Medical Social Worker at Brackenridge Hospital, a public hospital and regional trauma center in Austin.
Emily has received numerous national and state honors for her work in health and human services. In 2001, she received the Eunice N. Tyler Practice Award from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health for her contributions to public health education. In her role as Executive Director of the Texas Cancer Council, Emily was honored by the Texas Nurses Association, the American Cancer Society/Texas Division, National Black Leadership Initiative on Cancer, and Smokeless Texas coalition. In 1993, she was awarded the national Joseph Cullen Award for Outstanding Chronic Disease contributions by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of State and Territorial Chronic Disease Program Directors. Both Governors George W. Bush and Ann Richards recognized Emily for her contributions to strategic planning in the State of Texas.
Emily has a long history of volunteer service. Since moving back to Houston in 1998, she has been active in numerous civic organizations, including the Kiwanis Club of Houston and Baylor College of Medicine’s Breast Care Center.
Emily is married to Bruce Baskett, a very supportive best friend of 30+ years who uprooted his career and home in Austin so she could work for AMIGOS. In her spare time, Emily is an avid organic gardener and dabbles in arts & crafts.
