Donna Allie is the president and founder of Team Clean, Inc., a leading provider of janitorial services in the Philadelphia region. She launched the company in the mid-1980s as a solo entrepreneur, and has grown the company to over 550 employees and over $16 million in sales.

The company she founded on a shoe-string now serves a variety of clients in government, education, industry, professional offices, sports and entertainment venues and events. Among the highlights of Team Clean’s growth are clients such as the 2000 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, the landmark National Constitution Center, and the home of the Philadelphia Phillies, Citizens Bank Park.

Originally unable to find employment in her chosen field after college graduation, Allie was a single parent determined to find a way to support herself and her child. She had accompanied a friend on a job cleaning a home, and realized that there was an excellent income potential in cleaning houses. She answered newspaper advertisements for “cleaning ladies,” and began cleaning homes throughout Philadelphia’s suburban Main Line. Allie formed Team Clean and began to respond to those newspaper ads by hiring women herself and sending them off in pairs to clean homes, establishing the burgeoning company’s “team” approach to cleaning. She took her first commercial contract in 1985 with the Upper Main Line YMCA.

Allie has been the recipient of numerous professional awards. In April 2007, she was honored by the Philadelphia Phillies with the inaugural Most Valuable Diverse Business Partner during ceremonies on Jackie Robinson Day at Citizens Bank Park. In 1994, the African American Chamber of Commerce honored Allie with their Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, and in 1995 she received the Business Acumen Award from the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women.

In 1996, Team Clean was selected as one of Philadelphia’s 100 Fastest Growing Small Businesses by the Wharton Small Business Development Center, and in 1997 Allie was named one of Pennsylvania’s 50 Best Women in Business. Also in 1997, Allie and Team Clean received the Special Recognition Award for Excellence of Service from the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

In 2001, she was selected by the U.S. Small Business Administration as the "District Minority Small Business Person of the Year." The Business Center at New Covenant Campus honored Allie in 2006 with their Harriet Tubman Trailblazer Award. In addition, Allie has received the 62nd National Freedom Day Community Service Award, the City of Philadelphia’s Supply, Service and Equipment Award, and the Main Line Martin Luther King Jr. Association’s Business Leadership Award.

Photo at the National Constitution Center, September 2008.
Pictured from left former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Donna Allie, President Team Clean, former U.S. President George H.W. Bush and David Rivers, CEO Team Clean

A graduate of Wilberforce University with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Vocational Rehabilitation, Allie has attended the Loyola Advanced Minority Business Executive Program and has completed several courses at The Wharton Small Business Development Center.

Throughout the history of her company, Allie has remained committed to community service. She is an active board member of a number of non-profit organizations, including the African-American Chamber of Commerce; the Fund for Philadelphia; the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board; Philadelphia Women in Business; the Universal Charter School; and The Business Center in Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood.

David Rivers brings a wealth of experience in facility and ground maintenance and operations management to his role as Chief Executive Officer of Team Clean, Inc., a leading provider of janitorial services in the Philadelphia region. He is responsible for optimizing the company’s resources, defining project scopes and budgets, projections and cost control, as well as overall employment recruiting, training, motivation and leadership.

Educational and morale-building programs for Team Clean’s employees are a special concern to Rivers. He regularly organizes informational sessions to better help them understand issues of the day, such as the impact of recession and inflation on their own finances.

Prior to joining Team Clean in 1996, Rivers was the President of Restaurant Cleaning Services, Inc., which offered maintenance contracts and monthly cleaning services to restaurants and commercial kitchens in the Greater Philadelphia region. His background in chemistry was integral to his ability to choose the proper cleaning supplies and other chemicals, in order to minimize any harmful effects while allowing his staff to operate in a safe environment.

A former member of the American Kitchen Cleaning Association and a Registered Building Services Manager, Rivers graduated from Cheyney University with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and a minor in Chemistry, and earned his MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

For the past two years, Wright has been recognized by the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania on their annual Pro Bono Roll of Honor for attorneys who have provided pro bono services to litigants in Philadelphia courts.

Before beginning her legal career, Wright worked in various areas of Education Administration. She lived and worked in Europe for 11 years and is fluent in French.

Wright is the past president and a founding board member of the KIPP Freedom Academy Charter School in Camden, NJ, and is also active with Meals-on-Wheels in her community.

She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and her Juris Doctorate from Rutgers University School of Law.

Barbara Williams has been the Director of Human Resources for Team Clean, Inc. since February 2005, and has worked with the company in a variety of capacities since 1995. She brings over 25 years of experience in the janitorial services industry to her role at the company, which includes recruiting and staffing; performance management; compliance to regulatory concerns; employee relations; compensation and benefits administration; employee safety, welfare, wellness and health; and employee services and counseling.

Williams began her tenure at Team Clean as the site supervisor at the Naval Air and Warfare Center in Warminster, PA (1995 to 1997), and followed with on-site management roles for Team Clean at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1997 to 1998) and the Defense Personnel Support Center in Philadelphia (1998 to 2000).

She was the Quality Control Inspector for janitorial services at the Naval Air Facilities Engineering Command in Mechanicsburg, PA, and Team Clean’s site manager for Custodial Services at City Hall and the Municipal Services Building in Philadelphia.

Prior to joining Team Clean, Williams was a Quality Control Inspector for Scott & Sons Maintenance (Clifton Heights, PA), and a Supervisor for TUCS Cleaning Company (West Orange, NJ). She is a graduate of Murrell Dobbins Vocational Technical High School (Philadelphia, PA).

Williams received certification in Building Service Management from the Building Service Contractors Association International, and has completed courses in Facility Management from the American Management Association and in Customer Service, Retention and Satisfaction from Career Track Inc.

Charles Gordy is the Operations Manager for Team Clean, Inc., and has worked with the company in a variety of capacities since 2002.

He brings over 10 years of janitorial management experience to his role with the company, which includes planning, scheduling, quality control, and labor relations. Gordy is also an RSCW-4A Subcontractor Agent for Team Clean, in which role he is active in new business development and on-site walk-throughs and evaluations for contract bids.

Gordy spent several years as the supervisor for Team Clean’s janitorial services at the National Constitution Center and was previously the company’s night manager at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

Prior to joining Team Clean, Gordy managed janitorial operations at Philadelphia International Airport and a suburban Philadelphia hotel.

“There are not many companies that are willing to take chances on people,” said Gordy. “Team Clean took a chance on me, and they have allowed me to show what I can do, taught me a great deal along the way, and helped me grow along with the company.”

A native of Philadelphia, Gordy is also the pastor of the Kingdom Christian Center in Philadelphia’s Germantown-Mt. Airy neighborhood.

Since 1999, Darren Allie has been responsible for Team Clean’s day-to-day bookkeeping automation, including invoicing, accounts payables and receivables. He joined Team Clean in 1995 as a Site Manager, where he enjoyed being out in the field and participating in making account work flourish.

Allie is a graduate of Haverford High in Havertown, PA.

As Payroll Administrator, a position she has held since April 2000, Epifania is responsible for tracking employee time by client, monitoring budgeted hours and verifying unemployment claims. She joined Team Clean in 1998 in housekeeping. Previously, she worked for Wharton’s Cleaners in Bryn Mawr, PA, and H.G.O. Services and Ortier's Bakery, both in Philadelphia.

A native of New York, Epifania graduated from Olney High School in Philadelphia. The mother of three children, she is furthering her education by attending evening school.

Gloria Alexander has more than 10 years of experience in Quality Control Management (QCM). She began her career with Team Clean in 1995 as Manager of the Naval Air Development Center in Warminster, PA. In 1998, she was named manager of the Defense Personnel Supply Center in Philadelphia.

Prior to joining Team Clean, Alexander worked in management and supervisory positions with Scott and Sons Maintenance, Inc. in Warminster, Tucs Maintenance Company in West Orange, NJ, and A to Z Maintenance Company in Warminster. Gloria was named Team Clean's Quality Control Manager at the Naval Inventory Control Point in Mechanicsburg, PA, in 2001.