Sherry Lansing has said she never thought of herself as a trailblazer but that is exactly what she is. In 1980, she became the first woman ever to run a movie studio when she was hired by 20th Century Fox as president of production. She was then an extremely successful producer before taking the reins as chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures. In this conversation, go behind the scenes of Lansing’s epic journey. You’ll learn about this dynamic, driven woman who overcame unimaginable odds, pushed boundaries and left Hollywood at the peak of her power to achieve the life she wanted.

The late Fred Rogers once said, “Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” Former movie executive and film producer Sherry Lansing has proven this to be true every day. Since her retirement from the movie industry in 2005, she has built a new career as a successful philanthropist, activist and fundraiser for multiple organizations, including her own foundation. In this conversation, Lansing shares her own journey, which has given her meaning and purpose and has led to the happiest time of her life.

At just 40 years old, former movie executive, producer and philanthropist Sherry Lansing lost her mother to ovarian cancer. She was heartbroken. Her mom was her role model and best friend. When she died, Lansing realized the only way she could honor her was to raise funds for cancer research and awareness, so others don’t have to suffer as her mom did. In 2005, she made good on that promise by founding the Sherry Lansing Foundation, which is dedicated to funding and raising awareness for cancer research, health, public education and encore career opportunities. In this conversation, Lansing shares her insights on the importance of cancer screenings, education and health equity. She’s ready to answer questions how we can someday eradicate cancer and how everyone can help.

When the media unifies around a cause, it has an incredibly powerful voice. And that’s exactly what happened when Sherry Lansing came together with eight other influential women in the entertainment industry who had all been affected by cancer. Together, they created Stand Up to Cancer, an initiative that has raised hundreds of millions of dollars since 2008. The organization changed the way cancer research is done and works relentlessly to offer the newest, most effective, and most promising cancer treatments to patients quickly by bringing together the best minds to collaborate, innovate and share cancer research. In this inspiring conversation, learn the story of Stand Up to Cancer and how it has accomplished so much. And the very real lesson that when we stand together, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish.

As a movie executive and producer, Sherry Lansing was known for getting things done. So when she learned of the massive shortage of STEM teachers in California, this former high school math teacher came up with a solution. In 2007, she founded the EnCorps STEM Teachers Program. The organization recruits and transitions experienced STEM professionals into second careers as math and science teachers. “They can both lead and revolutionize our most underserved school districts,” she says. “Who better to teach and inspire our next generation of engineers and innovators than STEM professionals who have invaluable insight and real-life STEM experience?” The program has been incredibly successful and is an example for school districts across the country. In this conversation, Lansing shares the story of EnCorps and answers questions from educators on how they can do the same.