Nancy Brinker

Nancy Goodman Brinker (born December 6, 1946) is the founder of The Promise Fund and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. 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. In 2011, she was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control by the World Health Organization. For her work on breast cancer research, Time magazine named Brinker to its 2008 list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Brinker was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama on August 12, 2009. Early life Brinker (née Goodman) was born in Peoria, Illinois to the Jewish family of Marvin L. and Eleanor (née Newman) Goodman. Her father was a commercial real-estate developer, and her mother was a housewife. In 1968, she received a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois. After graduating, she moved to Dallas, Texas and worked at Neiman Marcus as an assistant couture buyer. In the following years, she took various positions at other public relations firms before marrying businessman Norman Brinker. Career Susan G. Komen Brinker served as founding chairman of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, supervising all aspects of initial growth. The organization was named for Brinker's sister, who died of breast cancer. On December 2, 2009, Brinker was appointed CEO, a position in which she served in until June 17, 2013, when Judith A. Salerno succeeded her.