Nancy Brinker

Nancy Goodman Brinker (born December 6, 1946, in Peoria, Illinois) is the founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, an organization named after her only sister, Susan, who died from breast cancer in 1980 at age 36. Brinker was also United States Ambassador to Hungary from 2001 to 2003 and Chief of Protocol of the United States from 2007 to the end of the George W. Bush administration. A breast cancer survivor herself, Brinker uses her exper... more

Nancy Goodman Brinker (born December 6, 1946, in Peoria, Illinois) is the founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, an organization named after her only sister, Susan, who died from breast cancer in 1980 at age 36. Brinker was also United States Ambassador to Hungary from 2001 to 2003 and Chief of Protocol of the United States from 2007 to the end of the George W. Bush administration. A breast cancer survivor herself, Brinker uses her experience to heighten understanding of the disease. She speaks publicly on the importance of patient's rights and medical advancements in breast cancer research and treatment. She is currently serving as the World Health Organization's Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control. Brinker has helped build Komen by fostering a coalition of relationships within the business community, government, and volunteer sectors in the United States. For her work on breast cancer research, Time magazine named Brinker to its 2008 list of the 100 most influential... less