Ahmad J. Bright is Vice President of A. Bright Future, Inc., a non-profit that supports inner-city youth tennis. Ahmad was a high-level junior tennis player with an explosive forehand, graceful movements, dramatic angle shots, athletic acumen, and, as a lefty, had gifted hands. He was very entertaining to watch!

Ahmad was a disciplined athlete.  When he was 6 years old, he picked up tennis at Sportsmen’s Tennis Center in Dorchester, a then-free after-school program.  He went on to compete nationally under the direction of Longfellow Tennis Club in Wayland.  Ahmad ranked 26th in the nation in the juniors 14 year olds and under category in 2003; and ranked #2 in New England in the same category.  He also held a #3 ranking in the 12 and under category in New England.   Ahmad played the #1 position for Buckingham Browne & Nichols (BB&N) varsity tennis team during his junior year of high school, when the team went on to win the Independent School League (ISL) championship.

After completing his junior year of high school, in 2006 at the age of 17, Ahmad turned himself into the police and was later convicted of second-degree murder as a joint venturer. He received a mandatory life sentence under Massachusetts law and was paroled in 2021.  While in prison, Ahmad obtained his GED and then tutored other students who were going through the same process.  He also became fluent in Spanish and taught himself French and Portuguese, and took college courses, earning a year of college credits.  Currently Ahmad is a full time college student and is enrolled in a coding boot camp for justice-impacted individuals. He is a voracious reader of world cultures, American history, international politics and business.  He is also a faithful reader of the Economist, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.  Ahmad is an uncle, a son, a grandson, brother and friend to many who love and support him.

Ahmad is compassionate about and committed to reaching male youths who find themselves at critical crossroads in life so that they do not make the same mistakes he did as a teenager.  Combined with his love for the sport of tennis, which has afforded Ahmad many enriching experiences at a young age, he founded A. Bright Future, where he believes sponsorship and mentorship could make the difference in a young man’s staying on a positive path led by competitive tennis.

Donna M. Bright
Director, President

Donna is the mother of Ahmad J. Bright, and President and Clerk of A. Bright Future. Donna holds a PhD in Health Services Research from Brandeis University Heller School for Social Policy & Management; a Master of Science in Health Policy from Harvard School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science degree in Government: Public Administration and Policy from Suffolk University. Donna spent over twenty years of her professional career in public health -designing, developing and evaluating health promotion and organization development programs; and improving the quality of health care services. Donna lends strong leadership and administrative skills to the ABF board and organization operations.

Elizabeth (Lisa) de Lima
Director

Lisa is the Treasurer former Treasurer of A. Bright Future, Inc.  Lisa has worn many hats during her work life. She holds a Master of Arts in teaching from Bard College and has worked both formally and informally in both elementary and high schools. She also owned a small real estate company with a business partner for ten years, doing sales and rentals in Somerville and Cambridge. Lisa has been on the board of Cambridge Friends School and several non-profits. She is committed to right wrongs whenever possible.

Chad Bright-Reason
Director, Program Director

Chad is the brother of Ahmad J. Bright. He is on the Board of Directors of A. Bright Future. As a PTR certified tennis pro and coach, Chad has over 20 years of experience in the industry. From beginning his tennis career as a 6 year old at The Sportsmen's Tennis Center in Dorchester MA to currently coaching the Varsity boys team at his alma mater Milton Academy, Chad has developed tremendous experience, knowledge and love for the game. Chad’s most recent positions have been as a pro at the Weymouth Club in Weymouth MA and the Director of Tennis at The Cape Club of Sharon in Sharon MA, which he decided to step away from to put his full-time focus and efforts into Director of Programs for A. Bright Future. As a proud father himself, Mr. Bright-Reason takes great pride in educating and mentoring future athletes. Chad's authentic coaching and passion for tennis inspires and motivates his students to compete at a high level while enjoying the game of tennis.

Andy Crane
Director, Clerk

Andy is a former journalist, lawyer, government official and longtime youth development leader who, since 2012, has been USTA New England Tournament Director at Sportsmen's Tennis and Enrichment Center, the nation's oldest African-American non-profit tennis program. Andy began his relationship with Sportsmen’s in 1996 with the creation of BLAST, a new high school tennis training program Andy initiated with parents of Boston Latin School students. Over the years, BLAST provided off-season training for hundreds of Boston-area students who aspired to play high school tennis. Andy has been a volunteer for USTA New England in many capacities, including Chairperson of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, the Grievance Committee, the Eastern Mass Committee, and member of the USTA New England Board of Directors. Andy was Program Director, then Summer Program Director, for Tenacity from 1999 to 2010, and has coached high school tennis at Latin Academy since 2009. Prior to his career in tennis and youth development, Andy was Vermont Defender General from 1981-85 and Executive Director of the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission from 1985-1995.

Ana Victoria Alvarado
Director

Ana developed a love for tennis at a young age when she started playing tennis at Sportsmen’s Tennis Club in Dorchester, MA. As a junior tennis player, Ana travelled locally and nationally to compete in USTA tournaments. Ana attended Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, MA for high school where she played #2 singles her sophomore and junior years and #1 singles her senior year. After Nobles, Ana played tennis at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. During high school and college, Ana spent her summers teaching tennis with Tenacity and Longwood Cricket Club. After graduating from college, Ana attended law school and is currently an employment attorney in the Boston area. Ana is thrilled to be part of the ABF board!

Justin Robinson
Director, Treasurer

Justin grew up as an aspiring professional tennis player in Phoenix, Arizona. Suffice it to say the tour wasn’t in the cards. However as a top 10 player out of Arizona, he made his way to Boston College where he started the club tennis team and majored in finance. At BC, Justin cofounded a program called Midnight Madness, an annual tournament that brought together the college club teams of New England to raise money for non-profit advanced junior programs attempting to elevate and diversify the tennis community in Boston. Post college, Justin went on to coach highly ranked juniors at one of those programs while starting a technology company called Drizly. As the business started to grow, he had to put down the coaching racquet but never lost sight of his dream to eventually start an advanced junior program for talented underserved kids in Boston. Some combination of timing, luck, and serendipity brought Justin and ABF together and the rest is history.

Advisors- Several individuals advise the Board in areas such as fundraising, marketing, tennis, mental health, and other programming:

• Sherrod Bright

• Tim Smith

• Tom Friedman

• Michael Murphy

• Dan Lebowitz

• Luis Ramirez