(Photo: Ambassador Nancy Goodman Brinker is sworn in as the new Chief of Protocol of the U.S. by Secretary Rice during a ceremony at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, October 10, 2007. Nancy's son Eric Brinker is pictured at center. State Department photo by Michael Gross)

The Race for the Cure program which started in Dallas in 1983 has grown to 112 races with over a million participants. The nonprofit organization has raised over $1 billion in funds worldwide in its fight against breast cancer.

Due to her tireless efforts in trying to find a cure, Nancy has received many distinguished awards like Ladies’ Home Journal’s 100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century, and Biography Magazine’s The 25 Most Powerful Women in America - you could fill a page listing each one. I’ve interviewed hundreds of celebrities and high profile individuals over the years and consider Nancy Brinker one of the most inspirational. I know a lot of others feel the same about her. She’s very low key about it all and isn’t one to bring attention to herself. What she will highlight are her causes and mission.

You were recently sworn in as Chief of Protocol. What was it like standing at the podium as Secretary Rice introduced you and recognized your family? You seemed nervous.

“I wasn’t nervous but just very touched that my mom was there and I was missing my dad a lot. He’s part of the reason that I’m doing this. He’s a big influence in my life. My Mom and Dad were very fierce patriots who migrated to this country. We had distant relatives who perished in concentration camps in Germany. Daddy’s family came from Russia and was just thrilled to be Americans. He was a fierce small businessman who worked very hard and was successful. My parents always felt like they were very fortunate to live in this country. They were married sixty-six years. They were great parents to us. And like other parents, went through lots of trauma through my sister’s death of cancer. He lived a very healthy life until late in his life when he became ill with stomach cancer. It became very clear he wasn’t going to make it so we were hovering around him all of the time. He finally said, ‘Look, I don’t want you hovering over me. Go serve this country and this president. He loved the President and the First Lady.”

Your family has played a big part in your life in so many ways. What important life lessons did they teach you?

“My father didn’t have a remarkable background but an immigrant’s dream. He worked very hard and was ambitious. They didn’t have a lot of education but were very cultured in their own way. They were just good people. A weekend didn’t go by that my mother didn’t take us to the Red Cross or a homeless shelter to serve. We were told that we are stewards of the country and we were expected to fix what is wrong. Daddy was very proud of me but never got over my sister’s death. I wish there was a way to thank my family for all that they did for me. So many people go through life losing their parents at a young age or don’t have their parents. I’ve had mine for a very long time. My daddy used to say to me that when your basic needs are met you’ll never be happy unless you’re productive. He worked very hard even up to 48 hours before his death. Honestly, I don’t know how he lived the last two weeks of his life. His body was eaten away by cancer. He had most of his stomach removed when he was 88 which didn’t make for an easy life. But it gave him some more time and Mom wanted that time very much with him. It was very tough on both of them. I don’t feel like Dad is gone yet. He is such a strong presence in my life.”

What is going to be your role as Chief of Protocol?

“I’m going to be working on anything the Secretary asks me to do. If a country comes to visit in us they will outline their plans on what they’re going to do. For example, if they want to learn more about diabetes or heart disease I’ll often suggest programs, hospitals, or people they should meet. Or I’ll host them myself to meet the people or lead the discussions with leaders on what they want to know about. Our medical care, facilities, and research are coveted around the world and countries want to model their health care, hospitals, and medical schools after ours. We’re also going to be working with the 150,000 diplomats living in America today and the 184 ambassadors working in Washington. We want to provide to other countries when they visit what they need to fully engage in our culture, and understand who we are in America. If you show them that we care about them and their culture, chances are they'll care about us and our culture as well. I’m responsible for visits and protocol for when the President travels overseas or for hosting visits from presidents, prime ministers or other dignitaries from other countries.”

You recently spent time with the Dalai Lama. What was that experience like?

“I spent an hour with the Dalai Lama. I met him at the airport and spent time with him before his official visit. He has an amazing sense of peace that he carries. The actual tremendous goodwill that he engenders is amazing. He is just adored by so many. Just walking through the airport with him and seeing the people wanting to hug, kiss, and meet him or just be touched by him was incredible. He has a great aura of goodwill and great respect. I teased him and said, ‘I think you’re so serene because you don’t have a cell phone.’ He just laughed. He enjoys humor. What I’m learning from these experiences being around these influential individuals is that I’m very lucky to be in this position for a period of time and get to observe leadership styles and how these leaders conduct themselves to learn from them.”

“A lot of people question me why I would do this at this point of time in my life. First of all, it was my father’s wish in believing that I should be serving my country. Second, it’s an amazing opportunity. I not only will be part of traditional protocol duties but an outreach effort from what I will be adding. Every government job offers you the opportunity to make it into what you want it to be. This role will be even more relevant, appropriate for the times and an evolutionary development.”

I loved how you paraphrased Desmond Tutu in your swearing in speech by stating, "If I stand a little bit taller, it's because of standing on the shoulders of others." Explain how you use this in your life.“

I always think of the building blocks and humbled to be where I’m at and to think of the people who inspired me and allowed me to grow like the people who served Komen over the years and made it grow. I’d like to know that I also inspired them. But at the end of the day if you have a sensational team, the ability to motivate people, and motivated people then you don’t really care who gets credit. You’re just amazed and in awe of what gets done. I don’t sit up at night wondering where my picture has been on TV or in magazines or what interviews I’ve done, I sit up at night and think about what still needs to be done. What can I do in my role as Chief of Protocol? What can be done in Komen? “

What is going on with the Komen Foundation as far as updates?

“Komen is clearly stepping up in global leadership in its fight for cancer. There is a huge need for a global cancer effort. By 2030, twenty-five million people can die from cancer because of lack of resources, infrastructures and doctors. We’ve got to get going here and get this solved. There’s bee a culture of complacency in the cancer culture and in fighting the disease that has stalled efforts. On the breast cancer side, we are making recent gains in the reduction in deaths by one percent a year. Screening programs that experts criticized Komen for recommending are now being seen as early detection and saving lives. More importantly, there hasn’t been an advance that hasn’t been touched by a Komen grant. We will have invested over $2 billion in research by the end of the decade. We want to be developing cures and outcomes that we’ve invested to date to take into clinics, community centers and underdeveloped countries. We’re also analyzing who to offer our support to in presidential candidates whose platforms advocate more medical research into a cure.”

(Photo: First Lady Laura Bush joins Nancy Brinker and women from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Monday, June 12, 2006, at the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation’s 2006 Mission Conference in Washington, D.C. Mrs. Bush announced the U.S.-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research which allows governments, hospitals, researchers, and survivors to work with each other to help defeat breast cancer. White House photo by Shealah Craighead)

You’ve accomplished so much, which feat are you the most proud of?

“My most meaningful was receiving the 2005 Mary Woodard Lasker Public Service Award in Support of Medical Research and the Health Sciences. She was clearly one of my role models who taught me the concept of when society meets science. She was a patient advocate. I met her in college. She had a great impact on me and my career and why it was important to galvanize the private and public sector in breast cancer. We have made a good beginning but have a ways to go. Our task ahead is still large.”

What do you do in your free time?

‘The few spare hours that I have I volunteer for Komen and I catalog and read about the Hungarian art that I collect. The art tells the story of freedom, oppression, and passion. I just love it.”

You have lots of famous girlfriends like the First Lady and Secretary Rice, do you ever just hang out and talk about stuff like beauty, fashion or even celeb gossip? Basically, do y’all ever just sit back and cut up once in a while?

“Honestly, I don’t read the gossip stuff. It’s colorful but not interesting to me any more. The girlfriends that I hang out with are working like I am, generally even harder or we’re working on something together. I have a couple good friends at work where we’ll go out and do birthday or girl lunches together. But we're really all just too busy to sit back and just hang out.”

What advice as a mother can you offer to other mothers who are trying to juggle it all?

“I’m blessed with one son. I felt very guilty growing up being busy building Komen and also busy with my marriage. I didn’t get to do the things going on at school all of the time because I was a working mother. I tried to do things very meaningful in the time we spent together that he’d never forget that he could do with me or his dad. Those are the things that he remembers. Mothers feel guilty. It’s important to do small things with great love – the unique things that they’ll remember. Even if you don’t remember to pack the right cookie in his lunch, what matters is the quality of the time with them. Always let them know that you love them and put them first in your life. They have to know and believe that. I’m so proud of my son. He is a great human being.”

For women out there who are striving to achieve their dreams, what is the best advice that you can give to them based on your experiences?

“Daddy always used to say, 'With perseverance and courage you can overcome anything but stupidity.' The truth of the matter is that most people quit pursuing their dreams. If you just hang in there and even when times seem impossible you will overcome the obstacles. Just believe in yourself, keep praying, and meet every day with optimism. My daddy used to say, ‘I don’t care where I am. I’m just glad that I’m here.’ That’s the attitude to have – to be thankful that you have another day.”

It’s been close to 30 years since your sister, Susan died. How do you think she would feel with everything accomplished with the Komen Foundation and your service to our country?

“She would be thrilled at the accomplishments and outcome of Komen. We’re certainly not finished with her work. But she’d be proud that I’m working for my causes and would’ve been right there alongside me working just as hard doing something to keep fighting the battle.”