> Nancy G. Brinker
Nancy G. Brinker ignited the global breast cancer movement more than 25 years ago by promising her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died at age 36 of the disease that she would put an end to the shame, the pain, the fear and the hopelessness that breast cancer caused.
In 1982, Ambassador Brinker, along with a handful of dedicated friends, founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure in her sister's memory. At that time, the words "breast cancer" were never said in public and could not be used in the press. Few treatment options existed and hardly any researchers focused on the disease. Within a few years, Ambassador Brinker, who led a relentless, one-woman breast cancer information and awareness campaign, succeeded in breaching the silence surrounding the disease, changing the way it is talked about and treated.
In the face of social criticism, she started the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®, the most successful fundraising and education event for charity ever created. Additionally, she pioneered cause-related marketing to bring millions more people—from top executives to everyday consumers—into the ranks of the breast cancer battle. Her patient advocacy work resulted in the development of many new treatment options and a higher quality of life overall for breast cancer patients and long-term survivors. Susan G. Komen for the Cure has played a role in every major advance in breast cancer and is the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Komen for the Cure is the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.
Ambassador Brinker's determination to create a world without breast cancer is matched by her passion for enlisting every segment of society to participate in the elimination of this disease. She continues her mission to ensure that everyone, from sitting United States presidents and members of Congress to top medical experts and social leaders, understands and addresses the heavy toll breast cancer takes on our society, our families, our economy and our future. An outspoken champion of all people with breast cancer as well as those who are at risk for developing the disease, Ambassador Brinker takes her cause and her passion all over the world, seeking the fresh input and international partnerships essential to ending breast cancer for everyone, forever.
In addition to her personal dedication to the breast cancer movement, today Ambassador Brinker serves the United States as Chief of Protocol. The Chief of Protocol's office is responsible for activities including the planning, hosting and officiating of ceremonial events for visiting chiefs of state and heads of government, as well as coordinating logistics for the visits; managing Blair House, the President's guesthouse; and overseeing all protocol matters for Presidential or Vice Presidential travel abroad, working alongside the White House.
The former U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Hungary, Ambassador Brinker is globally known as a agent of change and was included in TIME's "100 Most Influential People" in 2008. She has received numerous appointments and accolades for her work, including the prestigous Mark Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service, the Trumpet Foundations President's Award, the Independent Women's Forum Barbara K. Olson Woman of Valor Award, the Champions of Excellence Award presented by the Centers of Disease Control, the Forbes Trailblazer Award, Ladies Home Journal's 100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century and Biography Magazine's 25 Most Powerful Women in America.
Nancy Brinker Bio
