last word
Kenny Holdsman
JARRAD SAFFREN | STAFF WRITER
I n the 1990s, Kenny Holdsman
was working as a lawyer at Ballard
Spahr, a Philadelphia firm that rep-
resented “institutional clients,” as he
put it.

Since Holdsman was a graduate of
Temple University’s James E. Beasley
School of Law, the job made sense. But
the young lawyer felt unfulfilled. He
didn’t really think he was a lawyer.

Then one night, the chairman of the
firm’s litigation department, Arthur
Makadon, walked into Holdsman’s
office and told him as much. The well-
known Philadelphia “insider,” who
introduced Ed Rendell to his future
chief of staff David L. Cohen, said to
the young litigator that his talents,
values and passions would serve him
better in another line of work.

“He was by no means firing me,”
Holdsman said. “But he was giving me
a piece of advice.”
It went on to shape the rest of his life.

Holdsman, a member of Congre-
gation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia,
pivoted to the nonprofit sector and
embarked on a multi-decade journey
to where he is today. The 54-year-old
is the president, CEO and founding
board member of Philadelphia Youth
Basketball, a nonprofit organiza-
tion that runs out-of-school basket-
ball, study and leadership programs
for children from underprivileged
backgrounds. PYB serves about 800 kids at a time,
according to the CEO’s LinkedIn pro-
file. But in September of 2023, it will
open the Alan Horwitz ‘Sixth Man’
Center in Philadelphia’s Nicetown
neighborhood, a $25-million, 100,000-
square-foot facility with a stadium
court, five classrooms and a multi-
media lab, among other amenities.

Once the facility opens, PYB will be
able to help over 5,000 students.

“This is the thing that he was born to
do,” said Amy Holdsman, Kenny’s wife
of 28 years.

28 JULY 14, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
But the nonprofit leader did not get
here overnight. In fact, he did not even
start PYB until 2015.

The Philly resident worked for
several other organizations before he
created his own.

After leaving Ballard Spahr, he spent
five years at the Philadelphia School
District as the director of service
learning and youth leadership. Then
he became the senior program officer
and director for the youth engagement
team at the Academy of Educational
Development, a Washington, D.C.-
based nonprofit. Finally, from 2009-
2015, Holdsman served as president
and CEO of Arthur Ashe Youth Tennis
and Education.

At each stop, the Jewish leader got a
little closer to his ultimate destination.

With the Philly schools, he led an
expansion of summer service pro-
grams to 22 different institutions across
the city. During those years, he was
primarily helping Black students, so
he learned how to approach working
in the Black community without the
benefit of personal experience.

“Through a lot of reading and con-
versation and feedback,” Holdsman
said. “Learn how to allow others who
are more culturally connected to the
work to be more visible and influential
than myself.”
In his next position, with the
Academy of Educational Development,
Holdsman worked remotely on an
initiative to use funding from cen-
ter-left foundations, like the Carnegie
Foundation and the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation, to develop pro-
grams to give young people “voice,
value and visibility,” as he described it.

The projects got students involved in
philanthropy and community gover-
nance, among other civic arenas.

It was through that work that
Holdsman recognized “the thread of
my career,” he said. “Creating ways for
young people, especially those from
lower-income communities of color,
to be fully visible and valued with
authentic voice.”
But during those years, Holdsman
was also coaching his own sons, Greg
and Danny, in basketball, baseball and
soccer. He probably spent 25 hours a
week building teams with his sons,
their friends and their neighbors in
northwest Philadelphia.

Holdsman saw that sports could
develop self-esteem, resilience and an
ability to fit into a team dynamic. The
experience inspired him to take the job
with the Arthur Ashe organization,
which used tennis in a similar way that
PYB now uses basketball: as a founda-
tion to develop well-rounded people.

As he guided the Philadelphia-based
organization, Holdsman started to
receive visitors interested in studying
his programs. They included Doug
Young, Kobe Bryant’s teammate at
Lower Merion High School and later
a Lower Merion assistant coach; Bill
Ellerbee, the former coach at Simon
Gratz High School; and Alvin Williams
and Jason Lawson, who both played
for Villanova University in the 1990s,
with Williams going on to a career in
the NBA.

They all left Holdsman with a similar
message. If he wanted to help as many
young people as possible, he should
focus on basketball.

“I was convinced that basketball
could be the single best door-opener
for thousands of kids in Philadelphia,”
he said.

Now, when the new facility opens,
it really might be. JE
jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com Courtesy of Isaiah Nathaniel of MadOptics Productions and Nahijee Cross of Philadelphia Youth Basketball
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