Staff

Carlyne is currently the Vice President of Finance and joined KABOOM! as Controller in January 2013.  Prior to joining KABOOM! Carlyne worked at International Baccalaureate (IB) as Head of Finance Schools Division where she was responsible for the school's division finance staff with her teams based in Bethesda, Hague, and Singapore.  Carlyne is an experienced professional with over 20 years, specializing in accounting and finance.  Carlyne started out her career with Ernst & Young and during her career; she has worked in a variety of industries, including Bristol Myers-Squibb (pharmaceutical), Sotheby's (auction), and Philip Morris Companies/Altria (consumer products).  Carlyne holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany and is a certified public accountant in New York State.  

Joy Hathaway is the Vice President of Regional Programs at KABOOM!, serving in this role since January 2021. She provides leadership and oversight to our programmatic work in communities. From 2018 to 2021, Joy Hathaway was the Vice President of Strategy Alignment and Implementation, driving alignment across all levels of the organization to advance KABOOM! strategic priorities to achieve playspace equity. Joy joined the organization in 2011 as the Director of Community Outreach.

Prior to joining KABOOM!, Joy was the Director of Resident Services at Jubilee Housing, an affordable housing provider that provides wrap-around community services in Washington, DC. At Jubilee Housing, Joy oversaw all of the organization's resident programming, including adult educational programming, financial literacy, English as a second language, homeownership training, resident leadership and youth and family services that consisted of K-12 after-school programming.

In addition to Joy's nonprofit experience, Joy has a variety of business background in marketing and human resources, such as her work at Red Peg Marketing and Pronto Wash International. Joy is fluent in Spanish, has spent time working abroad and teaching English in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Joy holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the George Washington University.

In her free time, Joy keeps quite active with long distance running, practicing yoga and chasing around her two young kids.

Amy S. Levner is the Vice President of the 25 in 5 Initiative for KABOOM!, the national non-profit driven to give children the childhood they deserve filled with balanced and active play, so they can thrive. She leads the communications, marketing, digital strategy and research efforts for KABOOM!. Previously Amy led the Livable Communities agenda for AARP where she was responsible for AARP's work on issues related to creating livable communities for people 50+ and their families.

Amy serves as a spokesperson and thought leader, and has a background in social change marketing, program management and strategy development. She's led successful healthcare, aging-in-place, and community design programs and campaigns throughout her career at agencies and non-profits alike. Amy most delights in playing with her 3-year-old daughter, most often at their local playground.

Gerry has served as the Chief Financial Officer of KABOOM! since 2006. Previously Gerry served as the CFO of U.S. Foodservice, a large publicly held broad line foodservice distributor and prior to that he served as the Chief Accounting Officer and Controller for Strategic Planning Associates, a publicly held international management consulting firm. He began his career as a certified public accountant with Price Waterhouse after graduating from the College of William and Mary with a Business degree.

Gerry has been a very active volunteer in youth sports in the McLean, Virginia over the past 20 years including service on three youth sports boards. He has coached all three of his children in soccer, softball and basketball and is still coaching. He serves as a commissioner and treasurer for McLean Youth Basketball and is very active in the McLean Little League softball program.

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, 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.

James Siegal is Senior Fellow for KABOOM!, advising the organization dedicated to putting an end to playspace inequity through strategic partnerships. Siegal served as KABOOM! CEO for five years, during which time he accelerated the organization’s work through public-private partnerships, extended its reach with philanthropy, drove innovation in playspace design, and sharpened its focus on racial equity.

Prior to KABOOM!, James served as Chief of Staff for the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that supports citizen engagement to address community challenges through AmeriCorps, the Social Innovation Fund and other programs. James has broad experience in the public, private and non-profit sectors, including serving as Vice President of Nonprofit Programs and Practice at the leading non-profit coalition, Independent Sector. He also served as Registration Section Chief and Assistant Attorney General at the New York State Attorney General's Charities Bureau and associate at the global law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. He is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School. James and his wife enjoy spending time playing with their three daughters.

Ronda Jackson is a senior leader and changemaker with a proven track-record for managing large-scale impactful initiatives. She leads KABOOM!’s policy, advocacy, and impact team that uses data to identify gaps in access to quality playspaces in disinvested communities and partners with government officials to drive public investment to achieve playspace equity in those communities. Prior to joining KABOOM!, Ronda was the Assistant Director of Public Sector Innovation at Living Cities where she worked with municipal leaders across the nation to implement practices that improved the economic well-being of low-income, BIPOC communities.

Previously, Ronda worked in criminal justice reform in cities across the country implementing the highly successful Boston Ceasefire gun violence prevention model. She also managed the nationally recognized Back on Track program created by then-District Attorney Kamala Harris, providing reentry education and employment services to first-time non-violent drug offenders.

Ronda began her career in the federal government as a Special Assistant for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation and a Special Assistant in the White House office of Cabinet Affairs in the Clinton Administration. She holds a Masters in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and a Bachelors in Communications from Howard University.

Danielle Turnage’s 25-year career includes positions in education, advertising, events, marketing communications and development. This unique mix of experiences are rooted in her love for children, equity, communicating with stakeholders, and managing highly-functioning teams.

Danielle committed herself to mission-driven work when she joined Habitat for Humanity International in 2007. She led global brand strategy, special initiatives, and donor engagement, introducing new approaches to stewardship, development operations, and event management.

In her current role as Vice President of Program Operations at KABOOM!, Danielle leads the team responsible for securing individual, corporate, foundation, and public revenue in support of the organizational mission to end playspace inequity in communities across the country experiencing disinvestment. Her approach to managing partnerships ensures donors are appreciated, informed and engaged while supporting key strategic priorities.

Danielle earned a BS from Spelman College and also holds an MBA. Her hobbies include traveling, interior design, and crafting.

Jen has committed her career to ensuring that every kid has equitable access to high-quality playspaces. She works to build partnerships and relationships that help accelerate our mission to achieve playspace equity. In her previous role, Jen worked to provide responsive and innovative program solutions that meet the varying needs of kids and communities. Her expansive knowledge of play solutions and their benefits stems from leading hundreds of play infrastructure projects across North America, managing programs totaling over 20 million in grant dollars, and creating new cutting-edge programs during her tenure at KABOOM!.

Tamara is a brand marketing and communications leader with experience in driving organizational strategies to increase awareness, engagement, and action among key audiences. She started her career in brand management in the consumer goods industry for Johnson & Johnson and Colgate-Palmolive in New York before following her personal passions to apply her professional expertise to the social good space in Washington DC. She has since worked for mission-driven nonprofits, including Safe Kids Worldwide, who positively impact the lives of people of color, women, and children.

In Tamara’s current role of Vice President, Marketing and Communications, she leads a team that is focused on raising awareness of its mission to end playspace inequity through thought leadership, brand development, digital/social media engagement, and impactful storytelling.

Tamara holds a BS in Marketing from Hampton University, and lives in Washington DC with her husband and children.

Christa, a Washington, DC area native, has been an executive fundraiser for over 25 years. She proudly joined KABOOM! in September of 2022. Throughout her nonprofit fundraising career, Mrs. Evans has championed causes ranging from women’s health to cancer, literacy, and workforce development. A frequent presenter, fundraising teacher, and mentor, she is passionate about innovation, efficiency, creative problem-solving, and motivating fundraisers to achieve their goals. Christa is a graduate of Frostburg State University with bachelor’s degrees in both Political Science and Criminal Justice. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Nonprofit Administration at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Her coveted spare time is spent with her husband, raising her sassy daughter and three teenage stepchildren, watching professional football, being with friends, eating pickles, knitting, and enjoying her home in Jefferson, Maryland.

Kathryn Lusk is VP of Programs at KABOOM!. Kathryn is a fourteen-year veteran of building playgrounds and engaging community members with KABOOM! and manages the teams responsible for creating partnerships and new playspaces across the Eastern and Central Southern US. These teams play a critical role in supporting the mission of KaBOOM! by working directly with communities to identify the need for, design, plan and build great places to play. Kathryn joined KaBOOM! in 2008 after serving as a Team Leader with AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps based in Sacramento, CA and teaching English as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guizhou, China. Kathryn earned a bachelor of arts in government from Dartmouth College and trained as a Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) through the National Recreation and Park Association.

Carey has worked in Operations for over 25 years in healthcare, tech, and nonprofits, gaining experience in technology, development, marketing, human resources, finance, and strategic partnerships. As a seasoned nonprofit executive, she is passionate about motivating teams to accomplish extraordinary goals, diversity, and opportunities to impact systemic change for marginalized communities. In addition to being passionate about equity for kids, she also mentors young professionals, teaches leadership and management, and coaches up-and-coming readers. Outside of the office, Carey finds her peace on the Chesapeake Bay, creative writing, and being with her friends, family, and two Jack Russell Terriers, Pocket and Jack.