Komen Founder Nancy Brinker’s Mysterious Expense Report. Nancy Brinker, a socialite, powerbroker, and former U.S. ambassador to Hungary, has turned Susan G. Komen for the Cure into a cancer-fighting giant over the past three decades. Now, critics say, it may be time for her to go—if she wants to preserve the very charity she built. The recent crisis over Komen’s decision to de-fund—and then re-fund—Planned Parenthood has put Brinker under intense scrutiny, with observers questioning everything from her management style to her earnings to her spending.
“It has all become a diversion. In interviews with The Daily Beast, a half-dozen former Komen employees who held a range of jobs at the charity in the past five years expressed similar sentiments, saying the foundation has become dominated by its larger-than-life leader. In the 30 years since she launched the foundation, Brinker has raised some $1.9 billion for cancer research. It is unclear how much the Komen foundation pays yearly for her travel expenses and other costs. Komen Exec Karen Handel Calls Planned Parenthood a ‘Gigantic Bully’ For Chinese men there’s no status symbol like a mistress, or two, or three, or four A friend attended a work-related banquet in China recently. Seated at the same table were several men who were executives of Chinese state-owned enterprises. As bottles of Hennessy Cognac and jet-fuel-like baijiu were opened and quickly consumed, the topic of conversation awkwardly jostled from work to geopolitics to the price of Apple’s latest iPhone.
One executive, his face glowing red from the night’s imbibitions, said he needed to buy one because his mistress demanded it. In fact, she was texting him about it as he spoke. He held out his phone’s lit screen as proof, new messages still incoming on his WeChat account. Pouring out of the man’s mouth were words of complaint, but they were part of the act. It is not just the men in China who are open about their extramarital solicitations. Mei went to Shenzhen shortly after she turned 18 to work for a relative’s import and export business. How Komen decided to defund Planned Parenthood. Culture Connoisseur Badge Culture Connoisseurs consistently offer thought-provoking, timely comments on the arts, lifestyle and entertainment. More about badges | Request a badge Washingtologist Badge Washingtologists consistently post thought-provoking, timely comments on events, communities, and trends in the Washington area.
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By Mollie Ziegler Hemingway, Special to CNN Faced with a deluge of media opposition and pressure from lawmakers, the Susan G. Komen foundation amended its decision to cut off funds to Planned Parenthood last week. Afterward, Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer and NBC’s Andrea Mitchell complimented each other on getting Komen to buckle under pressure. Mitchell’s hostile interrogation of Ambassador Nancy Brinker, Komen’s CEO and founder, was widely viewed as a key moment in Planned Parenthood’s campaign against Komen.
“I thought you did such an interesting interview with the ambassador yesterday,” Boxer said to Mitchell during a televised discussion, “which I think helped bring this about, if I might say.” Mitchell later returned the favor: “Sen. Some claims of media bias are overwrought. And in so doing, the media only told half the story. Half the political story. Half the reaction. Komen Foundation VP resigns after funding controversy. Karen Handel had served in her position at Komen since April. NEW: "Nothing short of a shakedown," charges former Komen VP Karen HandelThe foundation reversed a decision last week to cut funding for Planned ParenthoodThe initial decision prompted a backlash and pressure from lawmakersA report says Handel was behind the funding decision (CNN) -- Karen Handel, a vice president with the Susan G.
Komen for the Cure Foundation who resigned Tuesday after a controversy over funding for Planned Parenthood projects, blasted the organization and defended her role in the debate. Komen's founder and CEO, Nancy Brinker, said in a statement she had accepted Handel's resignation and acknowledged, "we have made mistakes in how we handled recent decisions. " Handel, the foundation's senior vice president for policy, opposes abortion. When asked Tuesday what role her position on abortion may have played in the decision not to renew funding for Planned Parenthood projects, Handel responded: "Absolutely none. " On Komen, did the media have ‘abortion blinders’? Walkers stream down Constitution Avenue for last year’s Susan G. Komen Global Race for the Cure in Washington. The organization has drawn heavy media coverage recently over its funding for Planned Parenthood.
(Evy Mages - For The Washington Post) Ross Douthat thinks that, in the past week, the media have covered the story of the Susan G. Komen Foundation severing, and then reinstating, its ties to Planned Parenthood with “abortion blinders,” disregarding the fact that half of Americans oppose abortion rights. “On the abortion issue, the press’s prejudices are often absolute, its biases blatant and its blinders impenetrable,” he wrote in yesterday’s New York Times, later continuing that “if you’ve followed the media frenzy surrounding the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation’s decision ... to discontinue about $700,000 in funding for Planned Parenthood, you would think all these millions of anti-abortion Americans simply do not exist.” Komen, Meet the Online Feminist Army Never again should anyone doubt the organizing skill and agility of the pro-choice movement, at least under the right circumstances. I’m often the first to groan that the big girl organizations are so mired in bureaucracy they can’t be nimble and that we’re usually so busy playing defense that we can’t even prepare to play offense.
This was not the case in Planned Parenthood vs. Komen. Planned Parenthood had a carefully thought out response to Komen’s decision that included prepping their affiliates and partners with talking points, setting up specific donation channels ahead of time, and laying out a social media strategy to aggregate online outrage and channel it into action. And never again should it be said that online organizing doesn’t work or that young feminists don’t play a vital role in the pro-choice movement.
In fact, we were so effective during the defunding battle that PPFA built us into the strategy this time around. Like this: Like Loading... Tags: Komen. Head of Susan G. Komen defends decision on Planned Parenthood - latimes.com. Nancy Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure (Haraz N. Ghanbari / Associated…) As the backlash grew against the decision by Susan G. Komen for the Curefoundation to cease awarding grants to Planned Parenthood, Komen officials ended two days of silence on Thursday and tried to manage the uproar.
In a conference call with the media, Komen founder and Chief Executive Nancy G. Brinker said the decision was due to policy changes intended to improve how grantees are selected. It had nothing to do with Planned Parenthood's position as an abortion provider, she said. "This has been a contentious issue," she added of the rift between the two well-known women's health organizations. But Brinker also suggested that the Komen money might be better spent elsewhere: "You have to be sure you are granting to the right people. " In a letter Thursday, a group of 26 Democratic senators, including Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein of California, urged Brinker to reconsider. ‘Irrevocable’ damage: 24 hours in the life of a Komen executive. (TOM WORNER) Around 7 a.m. on Friday, a woman in Laura Farmer Sherman’s office started screaming.
“Oh my God,” Farmer Sherman heard from the next office over. “They’ve changed their mind.” Farmer Sherman is the executive director of the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure San Diego. And she knew immediately what the screaming was about: The national Komen Foundation’s new policy that would bar funding Planned Parenthood had been reversed. That would be the policy that San Diego and the six other California Komen affiliates came out in opposition to just 12 hours earlier. Farmer Sherman did not believe the news. Farmer Sherman and have spoken multiple times this week, as a national Komen controversy unfolded around us. When I first reached her Thursday it was near the end of what was, by any estimate, a rough day.
The San Diego affiliate does not even fund a Planned Parenthood clinic — only 19 of the 120 Komen affiliates do — but that had by no means insulated it from the backlash. EXCLUSIVE: Ari Fleischer Secretly Helped Guide Komen Strategy On Planned Parenthood. By Judd Legum on February 3, 2012 at 4:55 pm "EXCLUSIVE: Ari Fleischer Secretly Involved In Komen Strategy On Planned Parenthood" Ari Fleischer, former press secretary for George W. Bush and prominent right-wing pundit, was secretly involved in the Komen Foundation’s strategy regarding Planned Parenthood. Fleischer personally interviewed candidates for the position of “Senior Vice President for Communications and External Relations” at Komen last December. According to a source with first-hand knowledge, Fleischer drilled prospective candidates during their interviews on how they would handle the controversy about Komen’s relationship with Planned Parenthood.
Fleischer’s relationship with Komen and the Planned Parenthood controversy was previously undisclosed. In November, Komen advertised for a top level communications position in Roll Call. According to a source, during at least one interview, Planned Parenthood was a major topic of conversation. Update. Ari Fleischer Admits He Personally Advised Komen CEO On Planned Parenthood. By Judd Legum on February 6, 2012 at 2:00 pm "Ari Fleischer Admits He Personally Advised Komen CEO On Planned Parenthood" On Friday, ThinkProgress exclusively reported that Ari Fleischer was involved in Komen’s strategy regarding Planned Parenthood.
We revealed that, in December, Fleischer was retained by Komen to advise how to fill their top communications position, and he drilled candidates on how they would handle the Planned Parenthood issue. Today, Ad Age further reveals that, throughout the controversy, Fleischer has personally advised Komen CEO Nancy Brinker on how to handle the Planned Parenthood issue: Former George W. But on Friday, Fleischer told ThinkProgress he had no involvement in the crisis communications effort. Interviewing people for a job in December, none of whom were hired, is entirely separate from helping guide Komen’s strategy in February. How Social Media Backlash Made Susan G. Komen Cave. The online storm surrounding Susan G. Komen for the Cure's decision to pull funding from Planned Parenthood came to a close on Friday when Komen reversed its decision.
Score another point for social media. On Tuesday, the Komen Foundation announced new funding criteria that would severely restrict grants set aside for Planned Parenthood to provide mammograms for low-income women. Planned Parenthood's CEO alleges that the Komen Foundation pulled support because of political pressure from anti-choice groups. Planned Parenthood issued a statement Friday thanking the public for its support and pledging continued partnership with Komen. "With the outpouring of support over the past week," it said, "even more women in need will receive lifesaving breast cancer care.”
Twitter and Facebook users once again directed a national organization's policy. Planned Parenthood is being investigated by Rep. Komen posted a video on its Facebook page with Founder and CEO Nancy G. Komen Foundation, Cancer Group, Backs Down on Cutting Off Planned Parenthood. We want to apologize for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives.— Susan G. Komen (@komenforthecure) February 3, 2012 The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation on Friday reversed its decision to cut funds for breast cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood affiliates and apologized, saying the move had cast doubt on its “commitment to our mission of saving women’s lives.” The announcement came after an avalanche of criticism online from people voicing their dismay on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr about the move.
In the statement issued Friday morning, the foundation’s board of directors and Nancy G. Critics said the board’s decision to eliminate funds to Planned Parenthood was driven by abortion opponents inside and outside of the organization. “Our original desire was to fulfill our fiduciary duty to our donors by not funding grant applications made by organizations under investigation,” the statement said. Felix • Susan G. Komen Foundation Also Stops Funding Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Komen Foundation In Contortions Over Justifying Planned Parenthood Decision.
"We are not defunding Planned Parenthood," Brinker told Mitchell, "We have three grants that will go on this year, and they will probably be eligible for the next grant cycle. " Mitchell, a longtime supporter of the Komen Foundation announced in September that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. "But I come to you today expressing the anger of a lot of people, channeling through them, you see it on Twitter, you see it everywhere," Mitchell said.
Mitchell also asked Brinker about the role controversial Komen Vice President for Policy Karen Handel played in the decision. Handel, who ran for governor of Georgia in 2010 promising to defund Planned Parenthood, was named in a report at The Atlantic as being behind the decision. "Well, let me just for the record tell you, Karen did not have anything to do with this decision," Brinker responded.
"This was decided at the board level and also by our mission, Andrea. " Watch a clip of the interview: Komen's Planned Parenthood Decision: It Sure Seems Like It's About Abortion. Nancy Brinker, CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, at a 2008 event. kostia/Flickr Nancy Brinker, the CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, appeared on MSNBC on Thursday afternoon to deny that Komen's decision to end grants to Planned Parenthood had anything to do with politics.
"I'm troubled that it's been labeled as political," Brinker told host Andrea Mitchell. "This is not a political decision. " In the appearance, Brinker gave a revised set of reasons for why they are stopping the grants for breast cancer screenings. Komen initially claimed that it was ending the grant because a congressional investigation of Planned Parenthood launched by an anti-abortion lawmaker triggered a new internal rule against funding any program that is under investigation by federal, state, or local government.
"Our issue is grant excellence. Anti-abortion groups leading the campaign against Komen's Planned Parenthood funding may have been tipped off to the decision well before it was public. What Planned Parenthood actually does. About the Planned Parenthood chart. Why Komen defunded Planned Parenthood. Susan G. Komen chapter: ‘We are absolutely frustrated’ by the decision to defund Planned Parenthood. Meet the woman who got Komen to defund Planned Parenthood. DOJ smacks down Karen Handel | Blog for Democracy. Top Susan G. Komen Official Resigned Over Planned Parenthood Cave-In - Jeffrey Goldberg - Health. Komen Faces Backlash After Pulling Planned Parenthood Funds: Latest News, Tweets, and More.