In 1982, Brinker established the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation with $200 and a few volunteers. Two years later she discovered her own breast cancer. Through Suzy’s experience, Nancy learned to take charge of her own health and sought the most advanced treatment options available.

Today, the Komen Foundation is a leader in the field of breast cancer education, screening, and treatment, and is the largest private funding source for breast cancer research and community outreach programs. Key to its success is the Komen Race for the Cure®, the largest series of 5K runs/fitness walks in the world. This event, created by Nancy, has grown from one local race with 800 participants to a national series of more than 100 Races with more than 1.5 million participants in 2003.

Brinker has expanded her role outside the Komen Foundation, serving under three U.S. Presidents on the National Cancer Advisory Board and testifying before the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. She has also testified before the United States Democratic Policy Committee’s Congressional Breast Cancer Forum, participated in the International Women’s Forum, and is a Collaborating Partner for the National Dialogue on Cancer.

She has received numerous national awards including:

• Ladies’ Home Journal’s 100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century
• Biography Magazine’s 25 Most Powerful Women in America
• 1999 Caring Award
• 2000 Cino del Duca Award
• Induction into the Cancer Research and Treatment Fund, Inc. Cancer Survivors Hall of Fame
• The first Solomon Smith Barney Extraordinary Achievement Award
• The James Ewing Layman Award from the Society of Surgical Oncology
• Albert Einstein’s Sarnoff Volunteer Award
• Ladies’ Home Journal Top 10 Champions of Women’s Health.

Brinker was born in Peoria, Illinois, and is a graduate of the University of Illinois. She is the author of The Race Is Run One Step at a Time and co-author of 1000 Questions About Women’s Health.