CEOs You Should Know - Julie Fleshman PanCan

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I grew up in the Bay Area in Pleasanton, California.
I went to Amaor Valley High School. I was a
pro a proud member of the school and a cheerleader
and a.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Champion for being with the community.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
And then I went on to UCUS Santa Barbara for
undergrad and to Santa Clara University for graduate school, where
I got a law degree in an MBA.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
So we're here, obviously to talk about the Pancreatic Cancer
Action Network also known as pan CAN, and that's what
I'm going to refer to because it's a lot easier
to say that it is a mouthful and all the
wonderful work you've done almost over a quarter of a century,
and I don't mean to embarrass you about that, but
what I think is really cool is that after law
school you got right into this gig and with this nonprofit.

(00:48):
And maybe we can talk about it if we have
time a little bit later. But when I see anybody
as CEO president that's at a place for that long,
it's indicative about how they feel about the organization, but
also the organization and your people have treated you. And
I think that's really important. When you get into a
gig that you really enjoyed. But can you tell me
about the origin story about how you joined pan can

(01:09):
what happened, how did you get associated with them?

Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah? Absolutely so. Actually, when I.

Speaker 1 (01:13):
Was in graduate school, when I was getting my law
degree in MBA, my father.

Speaker 2 (01:17):
Was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
And he was only fifty two years old. He hadn't
been feeling well, couldn't figure out what was wrong with him.
The doctors told him, you know, maybe it's an ulcer.
Take some times and you'll feel better. And eventually he
was diagnosed with pancretic cancer and he died four months later.

Speaker 2 (01:35):
Wow, And I was mad.

Speaker 1 (01:37):
I just couldn't understand how this had happened, Where did
this come from? Had never heard of pancreatic cancer, No
one in our family had had cancer. And then suddenly,
you know, fifty two years old and my dad is
My dad's gone. And so I wanted to understand why
there was nothing being done, why we were given no options.
And I actually at that time, there was very little

(01:58):
research happening in pancredic caner across the country. One of
the few places where there was a pink credit cancer
research program was Johns Hopkins University, and I reached out
to them, and one of the leading researchers called me
back and I just, you know, ranted and raved at
them as to why nothing was what was happening.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
And why isn't more being done?

Speaker 1 (02:22):
And he told me about this newly formed organization that
had literally just been founded, called the Pink Credit Cancer
Action Network pan CAN, and he put me in touch
with the founder, and so that's how it all came
to be. You know, you sometimes don't pick the road,
the road picks you.

Speaker 2 (02:38):
And I feel like that's what.

Speaker 3 (02:39):
Happened, you know, Julie, it always amazes me how things
happen and they're not just happens then all the time.
I'll give you an example. I've had ra since I've
been twenty one and being in the media. I've always
been a spokesperson whatever city I've lived in, and I
happen to be living in Albuquerque at the time. I
became a spokesperson for the Arthritis Society, met the woman
that was a president in the CEO. Happened to meet
her sister who I'm now married to the last quarter

(03:01):
of a century, and with you in this tragedy of
losing your dead and I'm sorry and listen to cancer
touch all of us, including my wife's side of the family,
with pancreatic cancer. Something remarkable came out of it, where
you got driven to say what can we do better?
And how can I be involved in? Here you are
almost twenty five years later running the organization. It's truly extraordinary.

(03:21):
But I think things happen for reasons why I'm telling
this story. It's just amazing how things do work out,
which is absolutely incredible. So let's do this. There's so
much to talk about when it comes to pan CAN
and what's happened and transpired over the last quarter century,
not only with medical science and the medical people you
work with, your staff, and all the things that you've
created over the last couple plus decades. But I do

(03:45):
want to give people some stats too, because I think
you know, as I was preparing for this interview, it's
a little alarming when it comes to cancer, especially a
pancreatic cancer, how many the people it's affecting. So I'll
let you dive into that in a little bit, Julie,
but could you do me a favor and just tell
us first what the mission statement is a pancn absolutely.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
So our mission is to take bold action to improve
the lives of everyone.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
Impacted by this disease.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
By advancing research, building communities, sharing knowledge, and advocating for patients.

Speaker 3 (04:15):
All right, if we were to give everybody a thirty
thousand foot view about what you actually you and your
team do at pancan, what would you tell them that
you do?

Speaker 1 (04:23):
Yes, So we have a comprehensive approach to tackling this disease.
We fund research, we advocate, and Washington DC for increased
federal resources. We provide services to patients and families that
are currently dealing with this disease, and reraise awareness and
funds throughout the country through an amazing volunteer network.

Speaker 3 (04:44):
Why don't we start with statistics and you can be
general if you like. I'm not looking for any specificity,
but right now in America and the United States, how
many people either have pancreated cancer or to fix them
in some shape or form.

Speaker 2 (04:56):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (04:57):
So, this year, over sixty four thousand Americans will diagnosed
with pancreatic cancer. It's the third leading cause of cancer
death in the United States and expected to become the
second leading cause of cancer death by twenty thirty.

Speaker 3 (05:11):
Is it always a death sentence, Julie, Or there is
there help out there is or medications are the therapies?
I know there's different stages of cancer, but where are
we with that?

Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, I mean.

Speaker 1 (05:21):
There's always hope, there's always people that beat the odds.
And you know, well, what we say, no patient is statistic.
Each patient is an individual and we need to treat
them as such. But unfortunately, the current five year survival
rate is just thirteen percent. That is unacceptable, but it

(05:43):
has gone up a percentage point each year over the
last three years, the most you know, it's ever increased
in a short period of time. So while it is
still unacceptable and will while we still have a great
deal of work to do, we are making the progress.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
We're removing in the right direction.

Speaker 1 (06:02):
And each of those you know, thirteen percent versus twelve
percent means that many more people you know are living
longer and sharing moments with their families.

Speaker 3 (06:11):
So there's a lot of things I want to address
in the short time that we have with you. When
you learn about pancreatic cancer, you've got a great navbar
on your website, then we'll give that Folks at the
end of our interview if you already having google the
URL for PANCAM. But you know, you do a great
job of educating people on the website about the overview
and what it is and living with it, symptoms and
treatments and everything. And I think the knowledge, especially when

(06:34):
it comes to any kind of disease, is power, right.
You know, I can once again use my examples. When
I was twenty one got what I got. There was
no internet, there was no social media, there was limited
information to read about it. But as looking over the website,
I mean, you cover so many different areas when you're
learning about pancreatic cancer really is extraordinary. But once again,
knowledge is power when it comes to people that have it,

(06:55):
their families and the doctors they work with. So I
want to give you a pat on the back because
I just think it's present how you've covered all the
different areas when it comes to that.

Speaker 1 (07:02):
Thank you so much, And I think you know our
patient services program is the foundation of everything that we do.
That people can call in, talk to a trained case
manager and get comprehensive information about this disease so they can.

Speaker 2 (07:17):
Make informed decisions about their care and.

Speaker 3 (07:19):
Also to further that there's another part of that is
resources and services, and that's a big list of different
things that you can do as well too.

Speaker 1 (07:26):
Absolutely absolutely, and I think you said it best. You know,
knowledge is power, and the more information and resources people have,
they feel empowered to make the right decisions. I think
one of the hardest things when my.

Speaker 2 (07:38):
Dad was diagnosed.

Speaker 1 (07:40):
At that time, there really was no place to go
for information and resources, and we were powerless and we
felt like we couldn't do anything to help and support
my dad. And so I think I am proud that today.

Speaker 2 (07:53):
That is not the case.

Speaker 1 (07:54):
If somebody calls in and utilizes our programs and services, we'll.

Speaker 3 (07:58):
Talk a little bit more about donating. How you can
do that, whether you're volunteering and advocating or being a
partner too, because there's really a lot of different ways
that you can do that with pan CAN. But when
it comes to being funded, how are you currently being
funded right now?

Speaker 1 (08:11):
So we are one hundred percent funded through philanthropy, so
people making donations, through fundraising events, through sponsorships from companies,
but it is all philanthropic support.

Speaker 3 (08:22):
If somebody donates some money, I always get this question.
I'm sure you do too about where their money goes.
Where does it go when they do a donation.

Speaker 1 (08:29):
Yes, it is going to our programs and services, funding research,
patient services, advocacy, are education, cert programs, are volunteer network,
all that various things.

Speaker 2 (08:40):
It is funding pancam's mission.

Speaker 3 (08:42):
I always warn people when we talk in this series, Julie,
when it comes to our leaders and CEOs and presidents,
that there's a lot of great things that come out
of company. And I'm going to ask you about a
great story coming up in second, but it's also windyus
at the top two. There's just a lot going on
when you're running a very large nonprofit. With that said,
in the industry and US president CEO, what kind of
current challenges are you having right now?

Speaker 1 (09:02):
Yeah, you know, I think fundraising is always a challenge,
right There is always such important work that needs to
be done, and more work that needs to be done
than we have you know, funding available to do so.
I think fundraising is always something that we're working on.
How can we reach more people so that we can
raise more funds to advance our mission. I think the

(09:25):
other part this is still a challenging disease for patients
being diagnosed today. While we have resources and we have
information and it's certainly, you know, ten times better than
it was two decades ago, this is still a really
challenging disease, and so advancing new treatments and advancing the
scientific progress is something we continue to work on with

(09:47):
the entire scientific field across the country.

Speaker 3 (09:50):
Julie, I realize that there are a lot of cogs
when it comes to pan Can, with your researchers, your
staff and what you do and everybody else on the team.
But when it comes to maybe some really remarkable stories
that you've seen over the last quarter of a century,
I know there's got to be, you know, hundreds of
great stories out there. And I understand with as busy
as you are, you're not always boots on the ground.

(10:10):
But whether you've experienced it or heard second nd with
one of your staff or one of the researchers or
somebody that's been living with as a family, can you
share a story with us that was, you know, kind
of this is why we get up everyday kind of story.

Speaker 1 (10:25):
Yes, I mean, as you said, I have so many,
but I'll speak about one actually that was very recent.
So Pancan hosts a fundraising event called Purple Stride. These
are our walk events. There are fifty seven walk purple
Stride events across the country and they all happen on
one day. And this was recently on April twenty seventh,

(10:46):
a couple of months ago, and I went to the
Purple Stride in New York City and there was a
family there that we're all rallying around.

Speaker 2 (10:55):
The father who had pancreatic cancer.

Speaker 1 (10:58):
They had rallied our friends and colleagues and everyone they
knew to raise over one hundred and fifty thousand dollars
just for their team alone at this event. They all
came out to support the father and the daughter said
to me, she said, I haven't seen my dad's sparkle

(11:21):
like he has today since he.

Speaker 2 (11:24):
Was diagnosed with this disease.

Speaker 1 (11:26):
And that just, you know, that says it all that
when someone's diagnosed with a challenging disease, you know, you
need the information and then you need the resources, but
you need the support of your family and your friends
and to know you're not alone and that there's this
whole community of people fighting for you. And so that
to me sort of summed up what pancan is all.

(11:46):
About we are about community and creating this family of
people that have all.

Speaker 2 (11:51):
Been impacted by this very challenging disease.

Speaker 3 (11:54):
So I know, as a leader and a CEO president,
you're always thinking about the future once again, how to
partner up when it comes to bringing funds in about
what can we do next. We're obviously going to let
the funds, let the research do what it does. But
as you plan for the future, what things are you
either looking at that you want to do or that
is coming, or that it's something special over the next

(12:15):
couple two to five years that you're looking forward to.

Speaker 1 (12:17):
Yeah, I mean one of the challenges of pan ground
cancer is there is no early detection test.

Speaker 2 (12:22):
So by the time the.

Speaker 1 (12:23):
Disease is diagnosed, it's usually late stage, which makes it
much more difficult to treat.

Speaker 2 (12:28):
And we were able.

Speaker 1 (12:29):
To diagnose it earlier that five year survival, we would
be able to drive it much faster, much much further.
So one of the areas that's really important to pan
CAN is to find an early detection strategy. So we
are funding research in that area and in particular have
an initiative that we are facilitating called the Early Detection

(12:50):
Initiative So that's just one example. I think the other
area besides early detection is we need more therapeutics and
treatment options for patients, and so CAN is doing a
lot around that area to advance and accelerate the rate
of new treatments for patients.

Speaker 3 (13:07):
Hey, if you could do me a favor and indulge me.
I just thinking about this. You know, you've been there
for almost a quarter of a century, and I'm sure
you've seen such amazing things happen over the last couple
of plus decades of well what you do and the
people coming through in the research for the actual pancreatic
you know what happens to people when they get cancer.
But as you move forward in this job and you've

(13:29):
grown in it, we have a lot of future entrepreneurs
that listen to this program, I mean current ones too.
About just maybe some advice. I mean, you're you're a
woman that is running a very large nonprofit and you've
been doing this for a very long time, and I
understand your journey is very specific to you, Julie, but
maybe just when it comes to advice and maybe a
couple of things to tell people out there about your journey,

(13:50):
what to expect what you went through and how you
succeeded so long in the opportunity of getting this job.

Speaker 2 (13:57):
Yeah, well, thank you.

Speaker 1 (13:59):
You know, I think being passionate about what you do
can make all the difference in the world. I mean, clearly,
I'm extremely passionate about our mission and I'm here, you know.

Speaker 2 (14:09):
In my dad's honor.

Speaker 1 (14:10):
But even since then, you know, over twenty five years,
I've met so many more people in lives that this
organization impacts. I think, you know, running the non the
nonprofit organization like a business, I think sometimes people don't
think about that hand Can is run like a business.
We make business decisions, you know, so that to ensure

(14:31):
that we are driving the right programs forward and using
our donors' you know, dollars in the very best way possible.
Being bold, I think that's being bold and entrepreneurial is
something that I think is the spirit of pan Can
and why we've been successful. You know, sort of the
brick wall is in front of us. This is a

(14:52):
really challenging disease, and there's a really high brick wall,
and we're not scared of the brick wall. It's not
you know, we're figuring out how to break through it,
how to get over it, how to change the status quo.
We're told quite often, you know, that's not the way
you do it, that's not the way it's been done,
and it's our job to say exactly, and that's why.

Speaker 2 (15:13):
We're going to do it differently.

Speaker 1 (15:14):
And I think just sort of having that attitude and being.

Speaker 2 (15:18):
Confident that it's not always going.

Speaker 1 (15:21):
To work just the way you want because you're working
on a really hard challenge, but to keep persevering and
building this amazing community of supporters, volunteers, patients, researchers who
all are standing behind handcan making our voice, you know,
even stronger.

Speaker 3 (15:39):
Well that's really well, said Julian. I appreciate you sharing
all that. I have a wife and a daughter, and
I always look for them to have female mentors, especially
for my twenty two year old to just graduated college.
And while we're making a lot of strides and areas
for women to getting prominent jobs and executives and CEOs
and presidents like yourself, you've been doing for a long time,
there's still a lot of room to grow in that area.

(16:01):
But I wonder for you, when it comes to mentors,
did you have to rely on a female mentor or
somebody that you looked up to. You know, one thing
you said that really struck me that I've it is
not going to surprise you. In this series, passion is
usually the number one driver, especially when you're running a nonprofit,
because it is a tough role to run an organization
when it's nonprofit, small, medium, or large. With that said,

(16:22):
when it comes to mentorship, did you have any I've had.

Speaker 1 (16:25):
Amazing mentors over the years. I feel very lucky that
I've had some incredible board members, you know, since the beginning,
and then you know, as that board has evolved over
the years who have supported me, provided input and advice
and really encouraged me to keep at it. So yes,

(16:46):
I mean, I think having those kind of people around
you that when you put out a big, ambitious goal,
they help you figure out how to achieve it, not
tell you that it's not possible.

Speaker 3 (17:01):
Yeah, I think that's also good advice. And I think
also just to expand on what you were talking about,
I'm getting the message of that if you're talking to
somebody that's saying no, you're talking to the wrong person.
I tell my daughter that all the time, there's going
to be a ton of peaks and valleys out there.
But also the other thing I'm gaining from you too
is that you've been relentless in your quest to try
and not only grow PANCN, but what you do as

(17:22):
a CEO and president. I think that you know, as
I talk to most leaders, you have an extra gene
that you're grinding all the time twenty fourth seven, three
sixty five, and it's what you have to do to
be the best. Would I be correcting that.

Speaker 1 (17:33):
Yes, absolutely absolutely, And I think you know a positive
positivity and being in a positive environment is also really important,
right And you could look at this and say, wow,
that is a tough disease.

Speaker 2 (17:47):
It's sad, you.

Speaker 1 (17:49):
Know, it's depressing, But that's not the way it is
a PANCN. If you walk into our office, it is
it's positive and there's energy and we're inspired by the
patients and the families that we serve. You go to
one of our events and you feel this just positive
momentum and energy, and I think that's part of we

(18:10):
create the environments that we want to be a part of.

Speaker 3 (18:12):
Well, that makes sense to you, and if it wasn't
for you and other organizations, we wouldn't have millions of
dollars pouring in for pancreatic cancer and that's a good thing.
And also, I think, once again further your point of
people in staff and environment having a non toxic the atmosphere,
but also acts of kindness. It's hard in twenty twenty
four to get all those things, but it sounds like
you know, you lead by those qualities, and I imagine

(18:34):
you shuffle it down to your managers and then the staff,
and it sounds like that's really important to you.

Speaker 1 (18:39):
Absolutely, we start every one of our all team meetings
with a we call it a mission moment, where somebody shares,
you know, a story of something that's happened recently with
a volunteer out in the field, or a patient story
or something that just shows this.

Speaker 2 (18:56):
Is why we do the work that we do.

Speaker 1 (18:57):
And I think just always kind of leading with that,
here's why we are here, and this is what we're
all working towards.

Speaker 3 (19:04):
I love that. Well, listen, Julie, as we wrap up
our conversation, I always love to give the floor to
our guest and just maybe a couple of takeaways for
our listener, kind of recapping what we had talked about
But yeah, the floor is yours. Just to give us
a few things and then we'll get the website and
then we'll let you go. But what have you got
in your mind that you can tell our listeners that
we wrap up our conversation.

Speaker 2 (19:24):
Well, I think you know.

Speaker 1 (19:25):
We are making advances in pancreatic cancer. We have much
more to offer patients today, but we still have a
tremendous amount of work to do and when we need
more people to raise their hands, to volunteer, to donate,
to get involved and engaged, and we would love to
have more people join our movement and help us change

(19:46):
outcomes for patients.

Speaker 3 (19:47):
All right, And with all that that, Julie said, there
is a website and it's beautiful and by the way,
we ever designed it. While there's a lot of information
on there, and I think that's really cool. It's easy
to navigate and that's what I like when I get
on the website, especially something when it comes to this,
So what's the website for everybody? Julie and can dot
org nice and easy and there's a big kind of

(20:07):
I don't know, I don't Is it blue, is it green?
Is it turquoise? What's the donate button color I'm trying
to make. I was looking at it.

Speaker 1 (20:14):
I guess it's like a chilly blue.

Speaker 3 (20:17):
Okay, that's fine. What's a big giant, fat one with
a heart next to it? And that's where you need
to go to start the donation process and all the
other cool things are on there. Julie listen. It's so
great to talk to you. You know, your energy, your enthusiasm,
your kindness. It comes true on video as we talk,
and I think that's extraordinary. That's probably one of the
great things about you having longevity in one place, your

(20:39):
enjoyment of the job, but also what you're doing and
the people around you. So thank you for your valuable
time and continue success at PAN. Can we just really
appreciate you joining us on CEOs You should know, well

Speaker 2 (20:48):
Thank you so much for having me.