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.

Darryl Soto, Executive Program Director

Darryl brings over a decade of experience in youth development, with a proven track record of empowering young people to become leaders, team players, and confident individuals. As an alumnus of SquashBusters in Boston, Darryl understands firsthand the transformative power of squash and education programs. After graduating from Colby College in 2014, where he played on the Men's Varsity Squash Team, Darryl returned to SquashBusters, rising from Squash Coordinator to Assistant Program Director. Prior to joining A+, Darryl held leadership positions at Summer Search, where he spearheaded initiatives focused on student mentorship and staff development. His expertise in one-on-one mentoring, team supervision, and relationship building aligns perfectly with our mission to support students and their families.

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.