Allie Ladd is the founder of The Kennedy Ladd Foundation, a rare disease advocate, and a mother of two children living with MPS1 Hurler Syndrome. Through powerful storytelling, lived experience, and real-world advocacy, Allie inspires audiences to lead with courage, build community, and believe that hope is still worth fighting for.
About Allie
Like many first-time parents, my husband, Ryan, and I imagined a future full of ordinary milestones with our daughter, Kennedy.
At nine months old, that future changed when Kennedy was diagnosed with MPS I Hurler syndrome, a rare, progressive, life-threatening genetic disease. A few years later, newborn screening revealed that our son, Lincoln, had the same diagnosis.
Those moments changed our family forever. But so did the people who surrounded us.
Friends, neighbors, coworkers, our church, and even strangers showed up with prayers, meals, fundraisers, generosity, and steady support. Their kindness carried us through some of our hardest days and showed us what hope in action can look like.
Inspired by that community, Ryan and I founded the Kennedy Ladd Foundation so no family would have to face MPS I alone. What began as our family’s response to an unimaginable diagnosis has grown into a national nonprofit supporting families, funding research, advocating for better treatments, and building a community where hope is never out of reach.
Today, I speak to healthcare organizations, nonprofits, businesses, schools, churches, and leadership teams across the country. Through our story, I help people see the influence they already have and the difference one person can make when they choose to act.
"I believe hope isn’t just something we hold onto.
Hope is something we create.
And it often begins with the power of one person."
Why Book Allie
Allie Ladd is a powerful, authentic speaker who turns lived experience into hope-driven action—she combines the urgency of a parent fighting for her children’s lives with clear, strategic messaging that moves audiences to give, volunteer, and lead. Her talks blend personal storytelling, practical fundraising and advocacy lessons, and a rallying vision that makes complex medical issues accessible and emotionally resonant.
What audiences get when they book Allie:
- Unforgettable storytelling: a candid, human narrative that connects donors, volunteers, and decision‑makers to the real impact of rare-disease work.
- Credible authority: founder-level perspective on building a mission-driven nonprofit, fundraising toward clinical research, and running family-centered programs.
- Strategic clarity: concrete guidance on translating compassion into action—how to structure campaigns, rally sponsors, and create donor journeys that convert.
- Hope-forward messaging: an optimistic, movement-building call to action that reframes giving as partnership in progress toward a cure.
- Media-ready presence: warm, composed delivery that works for keynote stages, panels, fundraising galas, and community events.
- Practical takeaways: repeatable frameworks and examples audiences can implement immediately—whether they lead nonprofits, corporate giving programs, or community groups.
Speaking Topics
Hope Is Work
A message about building hope in the middle of impossible circumstances.
Rising Up Rare
Allie’s personal rare disease journey and how one family’s diagnosis became a movement.
Creating Hope
Through Community
How to build a mission, rally people, and create meaningful impact through storytelling, events, and connection.
Newborn Screening
Saves Lives
The powerful story of Kennedy and Lincoln and why early diagnosis matters.
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