Emma Scott.

Emma Scott is the Chief Operating Officer of Hearts for the Homeless International, and her connection to the organization spans nearly a decade of steady, hands-on growth.

She began in the fall of 2017 as a volunteer with the University of Florida chapter in Gainesville, educating the city’s homeless population about their health and the healthcare options available to them while performing free blood pressure screenings. She continued that work on the ground through 2021, even as her responsibilities expanded — joining the chapter’s Medical Information Committee, serving as chapter secretary, and then stepping into a Community Outreach Officer role, where she created a COVID-19 safe health education program, organized a city-wide donation drive, and coordinated with other community resources during the pandemic.

In 2020 Emma moved into the international organization as Director of Innovation, leading research and development for the implementation of new projects and initiatives. Promoted to Officer of Innovation, she created and executed several of those projects herself, including PHQ-9 depression screenings, EKG screenings, and a partnership with an education program that used bystander intervention to reduce interpersonal violence. As Executive Medical Innovation Officer from 2022 to 2024, she managed the organization’s Mental Health, Medical Education, Innovation, and Compliance departments, drafted the protocols and guidelines chapters are required to follow, and trained chapter executive boards to run blood pressure and mental health screening events.

Since the spring of 2024, Emma has served as Chief Operating Officer, overseeing all 69 of Hearts for the Homeless International’s chapters and a team of 40+ ambassadors and liaisons. She works to ensure every chapter maintains a strong executive board, engaged general members, and consistent health screenings, resolving issues that arise across her team, chapter offices, and screening locations, and helping chapters launch new projects. Among her signature efforts is the Zimbabwe Skin Infection Relief Initiative, a program she led to identify and treat tinea capitis and other skin infections in rural Zimbabwean villages, which achieved a 91% success rate. Emma earned her medical degree and is currently a transitional-year resident in Gainesville, Florida.