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Komen breast cancer charity names new CEO

The Columbian
Published: June 16, 2013, 5:00pm
2 Photos
Amelie Ramirez of San Antonio, Texas, left, Kim Sabelko, of Philadelphia, and Stephanie Reffey, of Washington, rally with a group of Susan G.
Amelie Ramirez of San Antonio, Texas, left, Kim Sabelko, of Philadelphia, and Stephanie Reffey, of Washington, rally with a group of Susan G. Komen for the Cure volunteers and breast cancer survivors during a rally in support of funding for medical research in the face of the sequester in Washington. Photo Gallery

DALLAS — Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced Monday that it has a new CEO.

The breast cancer charity named Judith A. Salerno to replace founder Nancy Brinker, whose promise to her dying sister begat a fundraising powerhouse that invested hundreds of millions of dollars in cancer research. Brinker announced last summer she would step down following an onslaught of criticism over Komen’s quickly reversed decision to stop giving grants to Planned Parenthood for breast cancer screenings.

Salerno, 61, is executive director and chief operating officer of the Institute of Medicine, a prestigious independent group that advises the government and private sector about health and science.

“Komen’s commitment has helped countless numbers of low-income and medically underserved women and men get care they might otherwise have gone without, and Komen’s research program is one of the most highly respected in the nation,” Salerno said in a statement released by Komen.

Brinker, 67, announced in August that she would move from the CEO role, which she’d held since 2009, into a new one focused on fundraising and strategic planning.

In late 2011, the Dallas-based charity decided to halt grants to Planned Parenthood, which received about $680,000 that year. News of the move caused a torrent of questions about the decision and calls for its reversal, angering Komen supporters on both sides of the abortion debate.

Three days after the initial disclosure, Komen reversed its course, which led to more harsh criticism, this time from abortion opponents accusing the charity of caving to public pressure.

Karen Handel, the group’s vice president and a conservative, resigned the following week and later wrote a blistering account of the episode entitled “Planned Bullyhood.”

Earlier this month, Komen announced it was canceling half of its three-day charity walks due to a drop in participation levels.

Brinker founded the Dallas-based charity in honor of her sister, who died of breast cancer in 1980. It grew into a fundraising powerhouse. Its signature color of pink has become synonymous with breast cancer awareness.

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