Women’s History Month Spotlight | Lysa Ratliff
During Women’s History Month, Eat. Learn. Play. celebrates influential women leaders doing amazing and critical work supporting our mission of providing access to the three essential pillars of a healthy childhood — nutrition, education, and physical activity.
Meet Lysa Ratliff, CEO and inspiring leader of our community partner KABOOM!, the national nonprofit committed to ending playspace inequity for good. Through our continued partnership with KABOOM!, we have been able to reinvigorate and transform Franklin Elementary’s school yard by building a brand new state-of-the-art playground, multi-sport court, and sensory garden for Franklin students!
Along with good nutrition and a quality education, PLAY is central to our mission, and we are committed and grateful to be a part of advancing #PlayspaceEquity, along with Lysa and the KABOOM! team, by making sure kids in #Oakland and beyond have safe places to play and be active.
With 25 years of experience in nonprofit leadership and development, Lysa leads KABOOM!’s work that enables critical opportunities to build childhood physical, social, and emotional health in every kid in every community.
Continue reading about Lysa’s work below. Stay tuned this month for more profiles of inspiring women leaders supporting and inspiring our work here at ELP.
What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
Lysa: I love celebrating our history, as well as everything it means to be a woman. I am the mother of daughters and come from a legacy of strong and resilient women who found ways to overcome the odds stacked against them. I think this history of prevailing is true for all women. As humans who were once unable to vote and expected to stay at home or to confine to norms set by men, women have a shared history and legacy of rising against oppression. Our contributions throughout history should always be acknowledged and celebrated, but one doesn’t have to look far for rich examples of inspiration. We are caregivers to our families, we are best friends, we are leaders of great organizations and institutions, and we are the world’s best problem solvers.
Women’s History Month for me is not just about celebrating what has been accomplished around us, or what lies deep within us, it’s also a reminder of where we came from and the road ahead. We have always and will continue to make history in ways that will give birth to the future our world deserves.
What advice would you give to your teenage self?
Lysa: It breaks my heart to think back to how I felt about myself when I was younger. Most people who grew up around me would be surprised by this because I was a good actor, but my teenage-self lacked confidence and felt incredibly unworthy. In my mind at the time, I was the wrong race, the wrong shade of brown, my hair had too much texture, my features were off, and my experiences represented a disadvantage. Now I look back at my younger self, all I can think of is how special I was, and what a shame I didn’t believe it despite what my mom and dad tried to tell me.
If I could say anything to my younger self, it would be exactly what I say to myself today – not to stand in your own way and to honor and use the power of your own voice and experience as a guide. More often than not, others will tell you what can’t be done, so never say this to yourself, just focus on doing it. I’d also help teenage me understand the significance of spending time with my mom, my grandmothers, my aunts, and all of the beautiful people who poured themselves into teaching me how to become a strong human being. I’d make sure my younger self heard that loud and clear because one day all that would be left is the memory of their love and legacy. Their love is still precious to me today, and it should be respected and treated like the treasure it is.
What do you admire most about KABOOM!’s work with Eat. Learn. Play.?
Lysa: I have been able to spend time with the Eat. Learn. Play. team, including the Curry family. Every person is deeply committed to achieving playspace equity, giving kids equitable access to amazing places to play. Our work together on this cause is particularly important in Oakland, where communities of color have access to 69% less parkland than white neighborhoods, and lower-income neighborhoods have access to 78% less park space than those of high income. We have begun working together to create an alliance of corporate and foundation partners to join us in addressing playspace inequity. The CarMax Foundation, Ripple, Under Armour and Oakland Unified School District helped to kick off a drumbeat of progress, starting with the creation of a beautiful playful schoolyard at Franklin Elementary School with hundreds of Oakland kids and community volunteers helping us lead the design, planning, and hands-on construction of a custom playground, court, and learning garden, as well as murals celebrating local heroes (including many women whose contributions to Oakland can be celebrated this month).
Is there anything else you’d like to share in your spotlight?
Lysa: We all have a story, a history, and a mark to make on this world. It wasn’t until I became CEO of KABOOM! that I realized why my own journey took the path it did. I know for sure that I was born and raised to do this work. Now that I am able to reflect on my childhood and my life, I know my experiences have set an extraordinary path for me from day one. Being in a place where I can be me, drawing on my own history to help others has given me one of the best gifts of my life. Now that I am in this position, I feel the responsibility women before me must have felt – to pave the path for others that allows them to live in their own greatness.
Connect with Lysa
Have a question for Lysa?
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Check out KABOOM! by clicking the link below.