Inayah Hart

Board Chairman

As a seasoned real estate professional with 16 years of experience, Inayah Hart has established herself as a trusted Realtor known for her expertise, integrity, and dedication to her clients. With a strong background in financial management spanning 15 years, Inayah brings a unique understanding of the financial aspects of real estate transactions, allowing her to provide valuable insights and guidance to her clients. In addition to her successful real estate career, Inayah is a driven entrepreneur, having navigated the business world for 30 years. Her entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen have further honed her skills in negotiation, marketing, and strategic planning, all of which benefit her real estate clients. As a mother of three children, Inayah understands the importance of finding the perfect home for families. Her personal experience as a parent adds a compassionate and empathetic touch to her professional approach, enabling her to connect with clients on a deeper level. Beyond her professional endeavors, Inayah is deeply committed to giving back to her community. As a volunteer, she has dedicated her time and resources to making a positive impact in her neighborhood. Born and raised in the vibrant Strawberry Mansion neighborhood, Inayah has a profound understanding of the local real estate market and a genuine passion for helping her fellow community members achieve their real estate goals. Inayah Hart’s extensive experience, combined with her entrepreneurial spirit, financial expertise, and genuine commitment to her community, make her a standout choice for anyone seeking a dedicated and knowledgeable Realtor in the Strawberry Mansion area.

Kevin Upshur

Founder, President

Kevin Upshur, Founder, Director – Kevin has worked with young people
for many years and has always had a vision to encourage people in his community
to read. He is a graduate of Strawberry Mansion High school, and later on attended
Cheyney University. For over 25 years Kevin has worked with the troubled youth,
and has seen the need for guidance. His mother has always encouraged him to
help and guide the young males into the right direction. In her honor he decided
to transform the bar once operated and owned by his mother into a community
Learning Center. The Strawberry Mansion Community Learning Center is a positive
resource that is dedicated to helping others and making the Strawberry Mansion
area a better place.

Donna Carroll

Board Secretary

A Certified Professional Medical Coder with over 30 years’ experience in the field of healthcare. Donna started her career as a Medical Records intern at Hahnemann University Hospital, then shortly hired to work at the front desk of Hahnemann’s Primary Pediatrics practice. She learned the importance of patient information, patient data accuracy, and types of insurance product such as, medical, auto, worker’s comp, life etc. With a desire to learn more she accepted a position at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children as a Medical Secretary.

Donna felt her intern training, front desk, and Medical Secretary experience, increased her ability to communicate with all facets of healthcare. She went on to serve as an Administrative Assistant (executive secretary) to an Associate Professor of Surgery at Penn Medicine. As an Administrative Assistant, she was the main contact person for all patients and handled issues that occurred throughout a patient’s care. Having to constantly fight insurance denials that always plagued a plastic surgeon’s practice. Researching and analyzing claim denials raised her interest in medical coding.

Donna earned her A.S. Degree in Health Information Technology (HIT, at Peirce College, and gained her professional credentials as a Certified Professional Coder (CPC). She has worked for well-known company’s such as, University of Penn, Lankenau Hospital, Temple Hospital and Independence Blue Cross.

Donna holds two titles, when she’s not coding medical policies or physician’s procedure notes, she’s a Stage Manager, working alongside a producer/director. Stage Managing involves several responsibilities and task to perform, in each phase of production. Donna keeps cast and crew schedules, run rehearsals, call cues for cast, and perform secretarial duties.

Her personal hobbies include, Video editing, photography, and creates social media content. Other things to note is her voluntary work with American Cancer Society Hope Lodge, Philabundance, Black Lotus Holistic Health Collective, and IBX Blue Crew.

LIN THOMAS

Board Member

Lin Thomas, serves as Chairman & CEO, of two emerging business enterprises, in the office products & pharmaceutical industries, comprised of a cadre of high caliber partners, executives, managers and associates.

The companies, independently supply, distribute and service a cross section of Fortune 1000 customers, small businesses, universities, schools and non-profit enterprises.  SUPRA Office Solutions, Inc. (“SUPRA“) primarily sells office supplies, office furniture, paper, janitorial and related products & services.  EMSCO Scientific Enterprises, Inc. (“EMSCO“) sells laboratory & research supplies, excipient chemicals, protective ware (“PPE”), specialized laboratory equipment and related distribution & warehouse services, primarily to research laboratories and the pharmaceutical industry.

Lin’s long professional & entrepreneurial career, began, as an auditor with Price Waterhouse & Co.; and subsequent positions including: Special Assistant to U.S. Congressman Parren J. Mitchell – U. S. Committee on Small Business; Vice President of Finance for a travel agency & money order company; Co-founder & Managing Partner of an Accounting Firm, that served as Financial Consultant, Loan Underwriter & Portfolio Analyst to the Pennsylvania Minority Business Development Authority; and President & COO of an office supplies company, leading the sales effort to grow the company to over $ 40.0 M, in annual sales.

Salim Amir Ali

Board Member

Salim Amir Ali: “Man of Action” Born raised and educated in the Philadelphia school system attended Community College, Temple University and The American Institute of Drafting. Salim is President Founder and Director of The Strawberry Mansion Tennis Association SMTA, started in 1998 as a non-profit association that promotes nutrition, health, and fitness programs for youth and adults in the City of Philadelphia.

Salim Amir Ali  has been playing tennis for 33 years. He teaches tennis to youth and adults in Strawberry Mansion at the Miles Gray Jr., Memorial Tennis Courts in East Fairmount Park. Salim was instrumental in community activism procedures with the City’s Parks & Recreation department, returning and refurbishing the Strawberry Mansion 10 Tennis courts at 33rd street after being destroyed. The 10 Courts were renamed in honor of the late youth professional tennis player Miles Gray Jr. who lived across the street from the tennis courts.

SMTA provides services to Strawberry Learning Center conducting youth tennis camps, Community College of Philadelphia, Brightside Academy Daycare Centers,and Enon Baptist Church in Philadelphia.  In 1999 Salim went on tour duty for the U.S. Air Force to conduct youth tennis camps; (1) U.S. Air Force Base Seymour Johnson North Carolina, (2) U.S. Air Force Base Patrick Field Melbourne Florida, and (3) U.S. Air Force Base Hurlburt Field Ft. Walton Beach Florida. A One week youth tennis Instruction Camp was held at each Air Force base.

Salim Amir Ali is an experience gardener, and has been growing natural organic vegetables and harvesting organic fruit for over 40 years.

Salim Amir Ali is a Graphic Artist and Architectural Draftsman by trade. He is a professional “Silkscreen Printer Instructor” as well.  Salim has been a Traveling Salesman Manager and Concessionaire, manufacturing sportswear for professional sporting events. He has traveled throughout the United States in 1987. He has taught silk screen-printing classes at Temple University’s Community Education Program PASCEP since 1989.

Salim  Amir Ali is Author of the “5 Secrets book”, which covers issues that deal with credit and money. He has conducted workshops at Temple University Community Education Program PASCEP from 2010 to 2012, and was guest lecturer at Lincoln University’s Graduate Program on critical thinking and debt tactics.

Salim Amir Ali is currently a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania State Mobile Notary Public Officer since 2010 providing continuous services to the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. Salim Amir Ali brings many years of professional and marketing service skills to the Strawberry Mansion Learning Center to help have a positive impact on the lives of the children and adults that live in the community.

Honorable Stanley L. Straughter

Board Member

Mr. Straughter is a specialist in International Business Development with over 40 years of experience in international development. He has lived and worked in several countries on the continents of Africa, Central Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and Russia. As a finance specialist, Mr. Straughter has provided services to foreign governments in governance and transparency, worked with Finance Ministers and provided advice and counsel to governments on trade policy, foreign direct investment and economic growth and cooperative economic development.

Mr. Straughter has considerable experience working with bilateral and multilateral financial development entities such as The World Bank, USAID, African Development Foundation, African Development Bank, Eastern Caribbean Investment Promotion service and U.S. Trade and Development Administration, OPIC, Export Import Bank. Mr. Straughter has experience in the following countries: Cameroon, Egypt, India, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Israel, Niger, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Senegal, Togo, Virgin Islands, South Africa, Russia, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Liberia, Nigeria, Denmark, Sweden, Holland and Nigeria.

Mr. Straughter advises public and private sector entities on issues related to international trade, exporting and importing, market analysis and preparing market penetration strategies to emerging markets for small and medium sized businesses. He organizes investment promotion seminars in the United States on behalf of developing countries, particularly African and Caribbean countries. Successful trade missions have been organized to Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Liberia, Jamaica, Brazil and Nigeria. Mr. Straughter is also a specialist on issues affecting small and medium enterprises in developing countries and the United States.

Mr. Straughter collaborated with the late Congressman William Gray to design, implement and direct the Minority Export Development Technical Assistance Program (MEDTAP) for the Pennsylvania Department of Commerce. MEDTAP provided management and technical assistance (MTA) to over 300 minority firms in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in International trade, exporting, importing, joint ventures and organizing trade missions. Under Mr. Straughter’s direction MEDTAP prepared financial packages, marketing analysis and penetration studies and obtained loan guarantees and risk insurance, for the completion of international transactions from 1989 to 1998. Mr. Straughter also served as the Managing Director of the Minority Business Development Center (MBDC) in Washington, DC

Mr. Straughter is a major advocate for the development of United States, Africa and Caribbean business initiatives. He has worked with the Eastern Caribbean Investment Promotion Service (ECIPS) organizing trade and investment missions to Caribbean countries. He is an original member of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) coalition that congress passed to promote trade and investment between the United States and African countries. In the state of Pennsylvania Mr. Straughter is a founding member of the African Caribbean Business Council, serves on the board of directors of the US Ghana Chamber of Commerce, the US Cameroon Chamber of Commerce and serves as the Chairman of the board of the US Guinea Chamber of Commerce and the Ivorian Chamber of Commerce.

Anuj Gupta

Board Member

Anuj is a proven leader in Philadelphia’s government, non-profit and private sector communities with a professional track record of achieving impactful results.  Anuj now serves as President and CEO of The Welcoming Center, an organization he helped start with his graduate school research in 2003.  Prior to this, Anuj served as Chief of Staff to Congressman Dwight Evans (PA-03).  In this role, he oversaw the Congressman’s legislative and policy agenda, the communications strategy, constituent service delivery and manages staff in the Philadelphia and Washington officers.  In additional to building a team, across two offices, Anuj has led successful legislative strategies towards passage such as the $1B Reconnecting Communities fund in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.  Prior to this, Anuj served as the General Manager of the historic Reading Terminal Market for five years.  In this role, he oversees all aspects of the nearly 80 merchant market’s day-to-day operations including leasing, marketing, special events, as well as guiding the non-profit corporation’s strategic direction.  During this time, Anuj was selected as a Public Space Fellow by the Knight Foundation for his work in making the Reading Terminal an inviting, accessible space for all Philadelphians.

Prior to this role, Anuj served as Executive Director of Mt. Airy, USA.  Under his direction, Mt. Airy USA undertook the redevelopment of one of the largest Transit Oriented Development sites in Philadelphia which in 2014 became a second campus for the acclaimed K-8 Wissahickon Charter School, invested over $1 million in redeveloping blighted sections of Germantown Avenue, launched a new business association and destination website for Mt. Airy and expanded the organization’s housing counseling capacity to serve nearly 600 people annually.  Prior to this position, he served for three years (2008- 2010) in Mayor Michael A. Nutter’s administration in a number of roles including Chief of Staff of the Department of Licenses & Inspections, and Deputy to the Managing Director.  Anuj was an attorney at Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP where he practiced in the firm’s real estate/affordable housing group from 2004-2007.   Anuj also started a fast-casual Indian restaurant in 2013 in Philadelphia’s Mt. Airy neighborhood called Jyoti Indian Bistro, utilizing his family’s traditional recipes.

Anuj is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D., 2003), the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government (M.G.A., 2003) and Carnegie Mellon University (B.S., 1996).  He currently is a board member of the Reading Terminal Market Corporation, Philadelphia Works, Independence Public Media Foundation, Vincent’s Homes, Chestnut Hill Hospital, Regional Housing Legal Services and Mt. Airy Baseball.