A+ Squash Staff

Safa Elsharif, Driver

Safa Elsharif is a mother of four, and her entire family has been part of the A+ program. Safa is from Khartoum, Sudan where she graduated with a BA in history from Al Neelain University. She worked as a substitute teacher for the San Antonio Independent School District for ten years and 5 years with Dar Un Noor Academy, a private school. Safa has been with A+ since its inaugural year. She is responsible for transporting students to and from practice.

Mark Heather, Squash Pro, Atlanta Community Squash

Mark is a US and British certified squash coach. His is the former world ranked #39 player, with US National 25+ and 30+ singles championship titles, as well as US National 40+ doubles championship title.

Alec Khan, Director of Operations and Creative Specialist

A graduate of Northwestern University, Alec volunteered with A+ Squash for three years before joining full-time as the A+ Squash Program Coordinator. He brings years of experience with tutoring math, science, creative writing, and SAT & ACT test prep.

Emily Terry, Director of Academics and Squash

A Nova Scotian native, Emily joins us from St. Lawrence University, where she was the assistant men’s and women’s squash coach. Prior to that she earned a masters at McMaster University, where she placed sixth in the 2019 Canadian University and College Squash Championships. She was also a four-year varsity squash player and two-year captain for St. Lawrence University and a two-time College Squash Association Scholar Athlete Award Recipient and a four-time College Squash Association Individual National Championship participant. She was nominated for the St. Lawrence Female Senior Scholar-Athlete award. She finished her Canadian junior squash career ranked in the top 10 for girl's U19 and was a member of Team Nova Scotia for both junior girls and senior women's national team events.

Cindy Ama Yao, Program Manager and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Specialist

A Côte d’Ivoire native, Cindy moved to the United States at the age of seven. A few years later, she joined StreetSquash, an urban squash program located in Harlem, NY. As a student at StreetSquash, she traveled across the country, playing squash and meeting students from other urban programs. Cindy attended St. Lawrence University and was a member of the women’s squash team, playing #5 on the team. A history and education major, Cindy worked as a teaching assistant at a number of local elementary schools in Canton, NY. As the Classroom Coordinator and Academic Advisor at A+ Squash, Cindy has seen herself among some of the A+ students and has always wanted to give back to an urban squash program because of the opportunities she experienced as a student herself.