Nancy G. Brinker - Biography
Nancy G. Brinker founded Susan G. Komen in 1982 on a promise she made to her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died in 1980 at the age of 36, that she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer. With her leadership of over 38 years and with the support of hundreds of thousands of others around the word, Susan G. Komen is today the world’s largest breast cancer organization, funding more breast cancer research than any other nonprofit while providing real-time help to those facing the disease. Komen has funded more than $800 million in research and provided nearly $2.9 billion in funding to serve millions of people in more than 30 countries worldwide.
In 2010, Brinker released her New York Times best-selling memoir “Promise Me.” 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 served as U.S. Chief of Protocol from 2007-2009. In 2008, President George W. Bush appointed her to The Kennedy Center Board of Trustees.
Brinker has received numerous awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, from President Obama in 2009. The same year, she was named Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control for the United Nations' World Health Organization.
Brinker is a lifelong member of the Council on Foreign Relations and currently serves on numerous corporate and not-for-profit boards and is an Executive in Residence at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.