The Honorable Nancy Brinker is the founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world’s largest network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, ensure quality care for all, and energize science to find cures. Nancy has also been named Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control for the United Nations World Health Organization. Nancy earned wide bipartisan praise in serving as the U.S. Ambassador to Hungary and United States Chief of Protocol during in the George W. Bush Administration. In 2009, President Barack Obama honored Brinker’s lifetime dedication to service by presenting her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2010, Brinker because a best-selling author with her personal memoir, Promise Me. Nancy has also served on numerous nonprofit and corporate boards. In addition to being a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, she is a Global Advisor on Breast Cancer to Hologic, Inc.

Alan Weil became Editor-in-Chief of Health Affairs, the nation’s leading health policy journal, in 2014. Formerly, he was the executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), directed the Urban Institute's Assessing the New Federalism project, held a cabinet position as executive director of the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, and was assistant general counsel in the Massachusetts Department of Medical Security. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and an appointed Member of the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC). He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley, a master’s degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Alan was a speaker at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Ideas Weekend, where he moderated Moonshot 2: “Cancer: An end in sight?”.

In March 2018, the Abu Dhabi Ideas Weekend welcomed some of the brightest and most interesting minds from the UAE and around the world to discuss four of the most important moonshot challenges facing our planet. The event was inspired by the world-famous Aspen Ideas Festival that has been taking place in Colorado since 2005, as a place for scientists, artists, politicians, business leaders, historians and educators to discuss some of the most fascinating ideas of our time. The 2018 Abu Dhabi Ideas Weekend topics included: “Polarisation: Bridging the gaps”, “Cancer: An end in sight?”, “Artificial Intelligence: Our super-intelligent friend?” and “The Modern Silk Road: A new era of globalisation”.