Ambassador Nancy Brinker | Founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure

Ambassador Nancy Brinker

Founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure

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Washington, DC, United States

Ambassador Nancy Brinker
Biography

Nancy G. Brinker is regarded as the leader of the global breast cancer movement. Her journey began with a simple promise to her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything possible to end the shame, pain, fear and hopelessness caused by this disease. In one generation, the organization that bears Susan's name has changed the world.

Shortly after Susan's death from breast cancer at the age of 36, Brinker founded Susan G. Komen for the Cure in 1982. Brinker faced an immediate uphill battle: newspapers balked at printing the words "breast cancer," no one talked openly about the disease, there were no 800-numbers, no internet and few, if any, support groups. Few treatment options existed for breast cancer patients and limited resources were committed to the disease. In a matter of years, Brinker broke the silence around breast cancer, and Susan G. Komen is now 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. Today, the organization has invested almost $2 billion in breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment.

Her creativity in raising awareness led to programs that at the time were revolutionary: In 1983, she founded the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, which is now the world's largest and most successful education and fundraising event for breast cancer. She also pioneered cause-related marketing, allowing millions to participate in the fight against breast cancer through businesses that share Komen's commitment to end the disease forever. Susan G. Komen for the Cure's unwavering advocacy for breast cancer survivors led to new legislation and greater government research funding. To date, virtually every major advance in breast cancer research has been touched by hundreds of millions of dollars in Komen for the Cure funding.

Brinker's determination to create a world without breast cancer is matched by her passion for enlisting every segment of society - from leaders to citizens - to participate in the battle. In 2009, President Barack Obama honored her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, for this work. The same year, she was named Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control for the United Nations' World Health Organization, where she continues her mission to put cancer control at the top of the world health agenda.

In 2010, Brinker released her New York Times best-selling memoir Promise Me, an inspirational story of her transformation from bereaved sister to the undisputed leader of the ongoing international movement to end breast cancer. She was named one of TIME magazine's "100 Most Influential People" in 2008. From 2001 - 2003, she served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Hungary and most recently served as U.S. Chief of Protocol from 2007-2009 where she was responsible for overseeing all protocol matters for visiting heads of state and presidential travel abroad. In 2008, President George W. Bush appointed her to The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees.

Brinker is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has received numerous accolades for her global work, including the prestigious Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service, the Champions of Excellence Award presented by the Centers for Disease Control, the Porter Prize presented by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, the Forbes Trailblazer Award, Ladies Home Journal's 100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century, Reader's Digest 100 Most Trusted People, and Biography Magazine's 25 Most Powerful Women in America. She is a co-founder of the Pink Ribbon-Red Ribbon Initiative.

Ambassador Nancy Brinker
Featured Videos

Current: Nancy Brinker: Komen Race for the Cure

Time 04:32

More Videos From Ambassador Nancy Brinker

Nancy Brinker: Komen Race for the Cure
Time 04:32
Newsmax Prime Nancy Brinker talks about the former first lady, Nancy Reagan
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Ambassador Nancy Brinker
Featured Keynote Programs

The Art of Seeing the Invisible

Drawing on her 30-year experience transforming a small living-room operation into a billion-dollar global network against breast cancer, Ambassador Nancy Brinker shares the leadership lessons that every executive and employee needs to know to build their company, energize their teams, strengthen their brand and institutionalize a Culture of Innovation that allows organizations to stay ahead of the competition and achieve world-class results. Just as her passion to find a cure for breast cancer created the world’s largest network of survivors and activists fighting the disease, Ambassador Brinker motivates corporate audiences in every industry and sector to excel in “The Art of Seeing the Invisible”—pursuing bold goals that may seem invisible and making them inevitable. Ideal audiences: senior executive retreats and company annual meetings.

The Power of One

One of the nation’s foremost “social entrepreneurs” and a global activist who has inspired millions around the world, Ambassador Nancy Brinker empowers audiences of all ages and backgrounds to embrace “The Power of One”—the ability of every individual to make a difference in their communities, companies, countries and the world. Drawing on her remarkable life experience as a breast cancer survivor, catalyst of an international health movement, U.S. Ambassador and U.S. Chief of Protocol, Nancy Brinker shares how her unique lessons for personal and professional fulfillment can help every individual lead a life of both success and significance. Ideal audiences: personal/professional development conferences.Ideal audiences: personal/professional development conferences.

The Patient Empowerment Revolution

A former member of the President's Cancer Panel and one of America's foremost patient advocates for a quarter century, Ambassador Nancy Brinker addresses the key challenges facing the delivery of affordable, accessible healthcare in the United States today. Drawing on her pioneering experience of transforming the way the world talks about and treats breast cancer—and warning how the baby boom will become an unprecedented "cancer boom"—Ambassador Brinker argues that today's "Patient Empowerment Revolution" will only succeed if patient-centered care becomes the central organizing philosophy of a 21st Century healthcare system. Ideal audiences: healthcare industry and associations.

Brave Enough!

One of Time Magazine's 2008 "100 Most Influential People", Biography Magazine’s "25 Most Powerful Women in America" and Ladies Home Journal’s "100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century," Ambassador Nancy Brinker energizes women executives, entrepreneurs and business owners to overcome the unique challenges facing female business leaders and seize the unprecedented opportunities of today's business world. Drawing on her own experience of founding, building and guiding the world's largest network of breast cancer survivors and activists, Ambassador Brinker inspires women to be "Brave Enough" to pursue their professional ambitions, persevere in the face of barriers and become mentors and models to the next generation of women leaders. Ideal audiences: women’s business conferences/meetings.

Ambassador Nancy Brinker
Featured Articles & Resources

Susan G. Komen Founder, Nancy Brinker | National Women's Hall of Fame Inductee

The Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure has become the largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors, advocates for prevention and initiatives for funding breast...
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Founder of Susan G. Komen Foundation Receives Cynopsis' Women of Action Impact Award

he woman who put athletes in pink and turned millions of people into walking and running global forces for good was today honored for her innovation and vision by female sports...
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Founder of Susan G. Komen Foundation Shares Story With Students

Written by Carolyn Susman Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, internationally known for her fight against breast cancer, quietly rallied the troops in her diplomatic way during a...
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Topics:   Motivation Speaker

Nancy Brinker Named WHO Goodwill Ambassador

The World Health Organization (WHO) has appointed Ambassador Nancy Goodman Brinker, Founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a breast cancer foundation, as WHO Goodwill...
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