Nancy Goodman Brinker (born December 6, 1946) is the founder of The Promise Fund and

Susan G. Komen for the Cure Susan G. Komen (formerly known as Susan G. Komen for the Cure; originally as The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation; often simply as Komen) is a breast cancer organization in the United States. Komen focuses on patient navigation and advo ...

, an organization named after her only sister, who died from breast cancer. 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. Brinker, a breast cancer survivor, uses her experience to increase awareness and understanding of the disease. In 2011, she was appointed to be a Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control by the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

.For her work on breast cancer research, ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' magazine named Brinker to its 2008 list of the 100 most influential people in the world. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

honored Brinker with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, on August 12, 2009.

Early life

Brinker (née Goodman) was born to a Jewish family in Peoria, Illinois,Encyclopedia of World Biography: "Nancy Brinker"
retrieved July 25, 2013 the daughter of Marvin L. and Eleanor (née Newman) Goodman. Her father was a commercial real-estate developer and her mother a housewife. In 1968, she received a B.A. from the University of Illinois. After school, she moved to Dallas, Texas and worked at Neiman Marcus as an assistant couture buyer. Thereafter she took various positions at other public relation firms before marrying Norman Brinker, the founder of the

Steak and Ale Steak and Ale was an American chain of casual dining restaurants that went bankrupt in 2008. However the brand, recipes and other intellectual property associated with the former chain is currently owned by Legendary Restaurant Brands, LLC, ...

Bennigan's Bennigan's is an Irish pub-themed American casual dining restaurant chain founded in 1976 in Atlanta by restaurateur Norman E. Brinker as one of America's original casual dining concepts. The chain operated under the restaurant division of Pill ...

, and

Chili's Chili's Grill & Bar is an American casual dining restaurant chain. The company was founded by Larry Lavine in Texas in 1975 and is currently owned and operated by Brinker International. History Chili's first location, a converted postal stati ...

restaurant chains.

Career

Susan G. Komen

Brinker served as founding chairman of the organization

, supervising all aspects of initial growth. On December 2, 2009, Brinker was appointed

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

, a position which she held until June 17, 2013, when Judith A. Salerno succeeded her.

World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador

Brinker is currently serving as the

's Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control. She was appointed by WHO Director-General Margaret Chan on May 26, 2009. She advocated for strengthening global action for cancer prevention and control in the context of the Global Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases endorsed by the World Health Assembly in May 2008. Her message emphasized the need for low and middle-income countries to strengthen comprehensive and evidence-based cancer control policies and programs.

Chief of Protocol

On October 7, 2008, Brinker hosted a symposium on "Breast Cancer Global Awareness" at the Blair House. First Lady Laura Bush joined the participants and the White House was illuminated in pink for the occasion. As Chief of Protocol, Brinker expanded the role of the office through outreach programs intended to foster better relationships with the Diplomatic Corps. The effort, known as Diplomatic Partnerships involved over 60 events, including "Experience America", where the Diplomatic Corps traveled throughout the United States to meet with business and civic leaders.

Ambassador to Hungary

Brinker served as United States Ambassador to Hungary from September 2001 to 2003. For the first time, she held a conference on the trafficking and exploitation of workers that health ministers from the neighboring Balkan States attended. She also raised awareness about breast cancer among Hungarian women by leading a march over the Chain Bridge in Budapest. The bridge was illuminated in pink for the occasion. Hungarian President Ferenc Mádl decorated Brinker with the Order of Merit, Medium Class, Cross Adorned with Star, for her work in advancing bilateral relations and in recognition of her charity activities.

The Promise Fund

The Promise Fund of Florida was created by Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, Julie Fisher Cummings and Laurie Silvers in 2018. It was set up to address a lack of preventative diagnosis of breast cancer among women in South Florida.

Other government service

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan appointed her to the National Cancer Advisory Board and in 1990, President George H.W. Bush appointed her to chair the

President's Cancer Panel The President's Cancer Panel is a three-person panel that reports to the President of the United States on the development and execution of the National Cancer Program. Members serve 3-year terms, and at least two of the three panel members must ...

and monitor the progress of the National Cancer Program. In 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle invited her to chair a subcommittee monitoring research, progress and development in the fight against breast cancer. Brinker was a bundler for George W. Bush when he was running for office, helping to organize and collect campaign contributions from other donors. In 2000, she became a Pioneer, a member of his $100,000 Club. And on December 24, 2008, President Bush appointed her to the board of trustees of the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

for a six-year term. She testified before the United States Democratic Policy Committee's Congressional Breast Cancer Forum and participated in the International Women's Forum.

Awards

Brinker has received the following awards and titles: * 1995 University of Illinois Alumni Achievement Award * The 1997 S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen, awarded by Jefferson Awards * The 2000 Cino del Duca Award, the James Ewing Layman Award from the Society of Surgical Oncology * 2004 Service to America Leadership Award presented by the National Association of Broadcasters Educational Foundation * 2005

Mary Woodard Lasker Public Service Award The Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award, known until 2009 as the Mary Woodard Lasker Public Service Award, is awarded by the Lasker Foundation to honor an individual or organization whose public service has profoundly enlarged the possibilities f ...

in Support of Medical Research * The American Society of Breast Disease 2006http://www.asbd.org/pages/online_release_5-3-2006.html * 2007 Trumpet Award * 2007 Castle Connolly National Health Leadership Award * 2007 Pro Cultura Hungarica Medal * American Association for Cancer Research Centennial Medal for Distinguished Public Service in 2007 * 2007 IARC Medal of Honour * Modern Healthcare 2007 Health Care Hall of Fame * 2009 Porter Prize * Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by President

on August 12, 2009 * Reader's Digest Trust Poll: The 100 Most Trusted People in America, May 2013 * Inducted as a Laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded the Order of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2016 in the area of Social Services. * National Women's Hall of Fame * Texas Women's Hall of Fame * ''Time'' magazine, 100 Most Influential People in the World * '' Ladies' Home Journal's'' 100 Most Important Women of the 20th CenturyBio: Nancy G. Brinker
* ''Biography Magazine's'' The 25 Most Powerful Women in America * Anti-Defamation League Americanism Award * The ''Ladies' Home Journal's'' Top 10 Champions of Women's Health * Global Pathfinder Award * The Champions of Excellence Award presented by the Centers for Disease Control * ASCO Special Recognition Award * Cancer Research and Treatment Fund, Inc. Cancer Survivors Hall of Fame * The Sword of Ignatius Loyola Award from Saint Louis University * The Albert Einstein's Sarnoff Volunteer Award * The Champion of Prevention Award by the National Foundation for the Centers for Disease Control * Inducted into the Cancer Research and Treatment Fund, Inc. Cancer Survivors Hall of Fame

Publications

Brinker has co-authored four books: * ''Promise Me: How a Sister's Love Launched the Global Movement to End Breast Cancer '', co-authored with Joni Rodgers - September 14, 2010 * ''The Race is Run One Step at a Time'', co-authored with Catherine McEvilly Harris * ''1000 Questions About Women's Health'', co-authored with Dr. H. Jane Chihal * ''Winning the Race: Taking Charge of Breast Cancer'', co-authored with Chriss Anne Winston Brinker wrote the forewords for: * ''Tamoxifen for the Treatment and Prevention of Breast Cancer'' by V. Craig Jordan * ''Tamoxifen: A Guide for Clinicians and Patients'' by V. Craig Jordan

Personal

Nancy Goodman's first husband was Robert M. Leitstein, an executive at Neiman Marcus. They had one son together but divorced in 1978. On February 13, 1981, Nancy Goodman married

Norman E. Brinker Norman Eugene Brinker (June 3, 1931 – June 9, 2009) was an American restaurateur who was responsible for the creation of new business concepts within the restaurant field. He served as president of Jack in the Box, founded Steak and Ale, and h ...

, founder of Brinker International, which provided access to capital and influence and enabled her role in public service. Norman Brinker provided funds and methodology for building the Komen foundation. The couple were major contributors to George W. Bush's first presidential campaign. They divorced shortly after the 2000 U.S. Presidential election, but Norman Brinker remained a board member of Komen for the Cure, having served on its board since its founding in 1982 until his death in 2009. While ambassador, Brinker began to collect Hungarian art. Her collection spans 100 years, from just before the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the present and has been on display at several museums around the United States. The collection is one of the largest outside of Hungary. Brinker is a major funder of gay marriage initiatives. She serves on the advisory board of the Harvey Milk Foundation.

References

External links

Nancy G. Brinker website
*
Papers of Nancy Brinker, 1954-2019Schlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brinker, Nancy 1946 births Living people American businesspeople in retailing American health activists American LGBT rights activists 20th-century American Jews American women ambassadors Ambassadors of the United States People from Peoria, Illinois Ambassadors of the United States to Hungary University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Illinois Republicans Texas Republicans Chiefs of Protocol of the United States Newsmax TV people 21st-century American Jews