Staff Team

We are led by a diverse and highly dedicated team of board and staff members, parents, community partners, and young people; many of our professional instructors are alumni of our programs. Arthur Ashe knew that progress can only happen with the active commitment of large numbers of people who care passionately about making a change for the better. We are proud to say that Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education represents those ideals as clearly as any organization.

Kenny Holdsman, President
Kenny comes to us from the Academy for Educational Development where he was the senior program officer. He has over ten years experience in developing and conducting service learning, youth development, and community partnership programs. Kenny is a graduate of Lehigh University and received his J.D. from Temple University.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT

		Lance Lee, Director of Tennis Lance oversees all tennis programs at the Center and has on and off court responsibilities as lead coach and program manager for the High Performance, Academy, and Future Stars clinics. Lance is a USTA certified High Performance Coach and certified PTR National Tester. He is a graduate of Hampton University and received his J.D. from the University of the District of Columbia. Lance grew up playing tennis at the Center and has a beautiful daughter Alana.
		John McGinty, Director of Education and Camden Initiatives John directs the educational curriculum in our programs and runs our after school and summer programs in Camden, New Jersey. John is from Philadelphia and grew up in our program. He has degrees from LaSalle University (BA), University of Penn (MS), and St. John’s College (MA). He is also a PTR Certified Professional and played at the Center as a kid.
		Jean Park, Director of Finance Jean supervises financial, accounting, human resource, and property management activities for the center. Jean is a graduate of Penn State University and received her master's degree from Drexel University.
		Jacquie Patterson, Director of Development Jacquie oversees fundraising, donations, marketing and communications. She comes to us from the People’s Emergency Center, where she was the vice president of development. She brings over ten years experience creating and managing programs for low-income families. Jacquie received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from New York University.
		Greg Williams, Director of Neighborhood-Based Programming Greg oversees neighborhood-based programs. As a former Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis and Education student-athlete, Greg went on to play college tennis on a scholarship at Hampton University. He brings the same focus, determination, and dedication to the job as he identifies new opportunities for the Center to bring programs to schools and parks all around Greater Philadelphia.

OPERATIONS

	Savanna Hailu, Operations Associate Savanna provides administrative support for the staff. Savanna is a graduate of Temple University.
Jocelyn Navarro, Operations Coordinator Jocelyn oversees our front-desk staff and our rapidly growing database of center and neighborhood-based programs.
Ahmad Waleed, Building Associate
	Rashad Waleed, Operations Manager Rashad supervises operations, including human resources and facility management, and processes applications for financial assistance. Rashad is a graduate of Temple University’s Fox School of Business and Management.
Al White, Building Supervisor Al maintains the facility along with a fleet of dedicated maintenance staff. He has been a member of the team for four years.

FRONT DESK STAFF

Andrew Diaz

Desean Fennel

Nigel Hopkinson

Scott Love

Matt Slap

Bonnie Thorpe

DEVELOPMENT

Marcie Baker, Development Associate
Marcie assists with fund development and external communications. She brings to us more than nine years experience in fundraising events. Marcie received her bachelor's degree from Drexel University.

Sibby Brasler, Benefit Coordinator
Sibby has been coordinating the annual benefit since 1993. She is a graduate of Drexel University.

Rory Paolantonio, Special Events Coordinator
Rory oversees special events programming at the Center. She comes to us from World TeamTennis where she was the marketing and promotions manager for the Philadelphia Freedoms for three years. Rory received her bachelor’s degree from St. Joseph’s University.

COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

	Jonah Fliegelman, Director of Program Innovation Jonah runs the Delaware Valley High School Program and works closely with both the High Performance and Love 2 Serve programs. He is a graduate of American University and participated in the Center programming as a kid.
	Hashaan Freeman, Operations and Coaching Associate Hashaan is an instructor and assists with community groups who use the center. He is a student at Philadelphia Community College and grew up playing NJTL.
	Ben Hirsh, Coordinator of Youth Leadership and Volunteer Engagement Ben manages our emerging youth leadership programming, including the Goodstein Junior Leaders program. Also, Ben is spearheading a soon-to-be launched Duke of Edinburgh program and a range of other opportunities for other young people to participate in the decision making and governance of our organization. Ben is pursuing a degree in adult organizational development at Temple's College of Education.

COACHES AND INSTRUCTORS

Alan Blackwell, Coach
Alan has been employed at the Center since 2003 and coaches all levels of tennis as well as the Future Stars Program. He is a former coach of men's college tennis at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, N.C. and has managed NJTL summer programs for over 800 young people. He is a PTR certified professional.

Tauheed Browning, Coach
Tauheed grew up playing tennis in our NJTL program. Tauheed is both a USTA and a PTR member, as well as a certified recreational tennis coach.

Kareem Bryant, Coach

Charles Goods, Coach and Program Manager for Blue Clinic
“Cha” has been a tennis coach for more than 35 years. As head coach for Philadelphia University men's team, he brings his perspective to his coaching at clinics and lessons. Cha is a PTR and NCAA certified professional.

John Greene, Coach
John is a graduate of Temple University and grew up playing tennis at the Center. He has coached indoor, the National Junior Tennis League, after-school programming, and has been a district supervisor. He volunteers his time reading and working with young children throughout the tri-state area.

Terrance Scott, Coordinator of Tournaments & Elite Academy, Coach and Program Manager for White Clinic
Terrance is a graduate of the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, and grew up playing tennis at the Center. Terrance is PTR certified and teaches NJTL at Watertower Recreation Center during the summer.

La'vell Sutton, Coach
La’vell directly works with our High Performance and Academy programs. He is PTR certified. La'vell is from Philadelphia and serves as assistant tennis coach of the women's team at Swarthmore College, in addition to his coaching and teaching at the Center.

David Topor, Coach

Rose Weinstein, Coach
Rose has been involved in coaching tennis and growing the tennis participation in Philadelphia for more than 30 years. She teaches on court, runs tournaments, and coordinates adult leagues at the Center.

Kein Wilson, Coach and Program Manager for Red and Munchkin Clinics
Kein grew up playing tennis at the Center and has been involved with the Love 2 Serve Program. Kein leads the Munchkin Program and his love of tennis is unsurpassed.

Hyacinth Yorke, Coach
Hy works directly with High Performance programs. She is a dynamic tennis instructor and a former touring professional. Hy has been involved in Philadelphia tennis since her scholarship days at Temple University. She has an impressive collection of titles, including #1 National and World Rankings in 2002 and 2003.