Lysa Ratliff, KABOOM!

In this first season of Swing Forward, co-hosts James Siegal and Jen DeMelo of KABOOM! speak with leading playground manufacturers in the U.S. and around the world about the playground industry and advancing playspace equity. In this first episode, we talk with our colleague, KABOOM! CEO Lysa Ratliff, about our mission and what brought her to this work.
Lysa Ratliff
CEO, KABOOM!
In early 2021, Lysa M. Ratliff became the newest CEO of KABOOM!, the national non-profit that works to end playspace inequity. For good.

Throughout her career, Ratliff has served as a champion for kids and their resilience, leading efforts to connect partners and make change for communities and kids across the country, and around the world. She was the Vice President of Partnership Development at KABOOM!, has held senior leadership roles at Habitat for Humanity International and Save the Children, and spent more than a decade in international marketing communications at several large corporations.

Lysa has led both public and private fundraising teams, cause marketing, and communications campaigns with large global corporations. When not spending time with her own kids and husband, Lysa enjoys all things home, with most of her playtime being spent in the garden growing organic fruits and vegetables.

About Swing Forward
Swing Forward is a podcast series from KABOOM! on the future of playgrounds and playspace equity, co-hosted by James Siegal and Jen DeMelo.

About KABOOM!
KABOOM! is the national nonprofit committed to ending playspace inequity – the reality that quality places to play are not available to every child, especially in communities of color. Since 1996, KABOOM! has partnered with kids and communities to create or transform 17,000+ playspaces and ensure that nearly 12 million kids have equitable access to the critical benefits and opportunities that playspaces offer. In 2022, KABOOM! launched the 25 in 5 Initiative to End Playspace Inequity to accelerate its mission in 25 high-priority locations over five years. Learn more at kaboom.org or join the conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.