Farnham Family Services, Oswego County’s leader in substance use disorder treatment and prevention, has named Christopher Baszto as the organization’s new executive director. Baszto succeeds Eric Breese who died unexpectedly in November 2023.
Baszto brings a wealth of experience to his new role, having worked for Farnham in a variety of capacities since October 2011.
A member of Farnham’s executive leadership team, Baszto has previously served as an outpatient clinician, senior clinician, outpatient program director, senior director of services, and interim co-executive director.
“Being named executive director comes with a sense of duty as a servant leader to help carry the torch into the future,” Bastzo said. “Having been with Farnham for 13 years, I have come to care deeply about the work that we do and feel that we have a commitment to the community we serve, as the sole provider of comprehensive substance use disorder prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction services.”
Baszto is a native of Watertown and earned a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry with honors from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. He and his wife then moved to Seattle, where he attended Bastyr University to study naturopathic medicine. While in naturopathic medical school, Baszto fell in love with the theory and practice of depth psychology and continued his studies at the Pacifica Graduate Institute in Southern California, where he earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology, emphasizing in depth psychology. After graduation, Baszto and his wife made the decision to move back home to the east coast to begin their careers and start a family, feeling the importance of giving back to their communities and raising their son surrounded by loving grandparents and extended family.