Sports Envoy
Sports Envoy Program

Crystal Langhorne

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2023  –  Indonesia

Crystal Langhorne is the Director of Force4Change, the Seattle Storm’s social justice platform. Crystal’s passion for social justice is the driving force that helps her create impact in the community. Prior to working at the Storm’s front office, Crystal was a player in the WNBA for 13 years and won two championships with Seattle. She also won a NCAA championship with the University of Maryland women’s basketball team. She holds a degree in Communication from UMD and her DEI certification from Cornell University.

Amy Griffin

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2023  –  Brunei

Amy Allmann Griffin has included soccer as a big part of her life and given back to the game whenever the opportunity arises, including being a member of the inaugural World Championship team in 1991. Following her playing career, Griffin was one of the first 20 women to earn her USSF “A” coaching license and began a career of coaching. Griffin started the program at the University of New Mexico in 1992, and then moved to Seattle as an Associate Head Coach at the University of Washington for 24 years.

Cherelle “Torch” George

Harlem Globetrotters Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2023  –  Malaysia

Widely heralded as the “Queen of the Crossover” and owner of some of the best handles on Earth, Torch George brings the fire every time she steps onto the court with her razor-sharp shooting skills and ankle-breaking dribbling moves.

In 2018, Torch made Globetrotter history when she became the first of the team’s female stars to own her own Guinness World Record title. In celebration of Guinness’ annual World Record Day, Torch set the record for the most basketball under the leg tumbles in one minute (female), with 32.

The 5 foot 3-inch guard attended Iowa Western Community College (IWCC), where she led the Reivers to a 26-5 record her sophomore year while averaging 25.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 4.3 steals per game. She finished her sophomore year with four single-game records and was later inducted into IWCC’s Hall of Fame in 2019. After a brief stint at Purdue University, she transferred to Oklahoma City University, where she earned a degree in Kinesiology.

Torch’s on-court success has led to her off-court development as an entrepreneur and inspiration, with the recent launch of her “Hood to History” clothing line. This successful apparel line aims to show young people how to dominate without a ball in their hands. With an eye on the future, she hopes to bring her fire to the sideline in a Division 1 coaching role.

Shane “Scooter” Christensen

Harlem Globetrotters Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2023  –  Malaysia

There’s family, and then there’s extended family. That’s how Globetrotters dribbling wizard Scooter Christensen describes his teammates. “I consider my teammates my brothers and sisters,” he says. Of course, like siblings do, the players fun-lovingly joke around with each other a lot. “My first year, we had a player that looked like Squidward Tentacles from SpongeBob SquarePants. Some guys put a picture of Squidward right on his seat on the bus. We were trying not to laugh, but as soon as he got on the bus, it was over.”

He was introduced to basketball at the age of five. He played soccer too, but when he started growing faster than most of the other kids, he started concentrating solely on basketball in eighth grade. After winning a state championship and team MVP honors in high school, Scooter went on to play at the University of Montana, leading the Grizzlies to the NCAA tournament in 2002. He is one of only three players in school history to lead the team in assists three straight seasons, and he is still second on the school’s all-time assist list.

Scooter has appeared on such popular TV shows as “The Bachelorette,” and GAC’s “Top 20 Countdown.” Being on camera in front of millions can be nerve-wracking for some, but Scooter says the craziest thing he has ever done is cliff diving.

Not only is Scooter one of the Globetrotters’ premier ball handlers, he also has a great set of pipes; he once won a karaoke contest in Montana. “I come from a singing family; we sang a lot in church.” He even sings on the bus now and then when the Globetrotters are traveling from city to city. He can also keep his teammates entertained with one of the nearly 1,000 movies he has in his collection.

Kellen Lovell

Surfing

Served as envoy

  • 2023  –  Papua New Guinea

Kellen Lovell is an adventure photographer, videographer and surfer who grew up in Hawaii. Wanting to combine his passion for the ocean with serving his country, he joined the US Coast Guard where he served in Alaska as a small boat crewman and certified rescue swimmer.

After the 2005 Indian Ocean tsunami, Kellen spent 2 years living and volunteering at a refugee camp in Thailand. While there he also volunteered for a number of non profit organizations and NGOs. He managed teams who were instrumental in rebuilding homes for tsunami victims.

Kellen attended San Diego State University where he studied cultural anthropology and archeology. While in college he served on the board of directors at the WindanSea Surf Club, one of the largest and most respected international 501c3 non profit surfing organizations which strives to “promote the sport of surfing and the positive image of surfers as athletes and good citizens, through the sponsorship of competitive surfing events and charitable community activities”.

Kellen currently lives in Hawaii and travels the world filming content for companies like Alison’s Adventures, Discovery Channel, Mastercard, Hewlett Packard, Western Digital, Adidas, Clif Bar and Hydroflask.

Alison Teal

Surfing

Served as envoy

  • 2023  –  Papua New Guinea

Alison Teal, Time Magazine’s Female Indiana Jones, is an explorer, author, surfer, conservationist and award wining filmmaker. She travels the world with her pink surfboard made from recycled trash on a quest to educate through entertainment and make waves of change in protecting the greatest treasure on earth – our world waters. Through her millions of social media followers and beyond, Alison’s passion is to inspire and entertain the kid – and explorer – in everyone.

Alison has worn many coconut hats directing, shooting, writing, editing, producing, hosting and acting for content on with DISCOVERY, NAT GEO, PARAMOUNT PICTURES, SONY PICTURES, and brand such as MASTERCARD, HAWAIIAN AIRLINES, KEEN, PATAGONIA, WD, CLIF BAR, RED BULL, LAR MER, and DISCOVERY+ and has been featured in all major press outlets from GMA, CNN, FOX, ELLEN, OPRAH, BBC, NBC, ABC, CBS, AL JAZEER, USA TODAY, LA & NY TIMES and TIME MAGAZINE. She was chosen by PARAMOUNT PICTURES and NICKELODEON to be the “real life explore like Dora” and the Indiana Jones by TIME MAGAZINE.

Alison was recently published by Ripley’s Believe It Or Not in her book Alison’s Adventures Your Password to the world distributed by Simon & Schuster and Penguin Random House. Her writing, films, and viral social content has been instrumental in changing multiple environmental laws including the cleanup of Trash Island.

Alison graduated Summa Cum Laude from USC film school and created her own family friendly film series “Alison’s Adventures” which she directs, producers, edits, and hosts. She has won international acclaim at film festivals across the world and spoke on stages from Ted Talks to Parliament and Economic World Forum.

Alison grew up in a hand built treehouse in Hawaii and was home schooled around the world by her adventure photographer parents – on the back of a camel, on Mt. Everest, or on a dugout canoe in the most exotic and dangerous places on earth. Through her books and films she aims to inspire the next generation of explorers and eco-warriors!

Maluhia Kinimaka

Surfing

Served as envoy

  • 2023  –  Papua New Guinea

Maluhiahali’iokauaiepilialoha Kinimaka, known affectionately as Maluhia, grew up on the east coast of Kaua’i in the Anahola Hawaiian Homesteads. As the eldest daughter of big wave surfing legend, Titus Kinimaka, Maluhia was raised amongst some of Hawaii’s finest water-men, hula masters, and musicians. Preserving Hawaiian heritage, language, environment, and way of life has been, and will always be, imperative to her.

At the age of four, Maluhia began surfing and developed a deep passion for her ancestral practice. She would go on to qualify for the Hawaii Junior Olympic Surf Team at the age of 11, as well as winning State and National Championship titles for herself before the age of 16. Maluhia’s mother is a small-business owner and former school teacher, and was very insistent that she also pursue her academic gifts. At the age of 17, Maluhia was accepted to Stanford University on full academic scholarship, where she would go on to graduate in 2018 with a degree in Atmosphere and Energy Engineering.

Since then, Maluhia has worked at a Kauai-based architecture firm, Design Concepts Hawaii, creating residential homes with an emphasis on sustainable development. Simultaneously, Maluhia has been balancing her professional surfing career with Roxy and Reef, two of the industry’s largest corporations. She is currently ranked at number 9 on the World Surf League’s Women’s qualifying series in Hawaii, and is applying to start her PhD next year while continuing to advance her professional surfing career. Maluhia hopes to honor the resilience of her ancestors by giving back to her island community, and to perpetuate her cultural practices of surfing and environmental stewardship with integrity for future generations to come.

Phaidra Knight

Rugby

Served as envoy

  • 2022  –  New Zealand

Phaidra Knight is an athlete, sports media talent, motivational speaker, and business entrepreneur. For nearly 18 years, she traveled the globe as a professional rugby player, establishing herself as one of the premier players in the sport. She made three appearances in the Rugby World Cup and was selected as the top player in the world in her position in 2002 and 2006. In 2010, she was named the US Rugby Player of the Decade. She became the first and only black American inducted into both the World Rugby and USA Rugby Halls of Fame in 2017 and 2021 respectively. The former attorney is on the Board of Directors for USA Rugby Board and the Board of Trustees for the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF). She served as the WSF President in 2021.

Phaidra founded PeaK Unleashed in 2019, a non-profit organization dedicated to the personal and physical development of marginalized youth through educational support, rugby and yoga, particularly those of incarcerated and exploited populations. She is a keynote speaker and has an expansive television dimension to her dynamic career. Her on-air sports broadcast experience includes sideline reporting, in-booth commentating and studio analysis. Phaidra has worked with ESPN, NBC Sports, CBS Sports, World Rugby, Flo Sports, and USA Rugby TV. She travels around the world delivering rugby commentary. Phaidra was on the NBC Universal 2020 Tokyo Olympics broadcasting team and covered women’s sevens rugby games. She was featured in a pivotal fighting scene with Oscar Award winning Halle Berry during her directorial debut “Bruised” (2021). Currently training as a mixed martial artist at the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York, New York, Phaidra is grooming to become a professional fighter. In 2021, she made her debuts in Muay Thai Kickboxing and MMA. Her current record is MMA (4-0) and Muay Thai (1-0).

She launched her clothing line, the PSK Collective, in August of 2020. The PSK Collective is a group of female athletes coming together to have a positive impact on girls and women alike. The PSK Collective has created a fusion of active and streetwear, designed to marry fashion, sports, and togetherness for greater causes. These causes include the empowerment of the athlete in us all, shifting attitudes surrounding fashion and expression, giving back to the organizations that help girls and women along their journey, and bringing athletes together – as part of a Collective – to help promote the line and important causes that advance women’s equity. One of the most popular products featured in the line is the Equal Pay rugby jersey. The PSK Collective is available at Walmart, Kohls, and JCPenney.

Imani McGee-Stafford

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2022  –  Singapore

Imani McGee-Stafford is a WNBA player, abuse survivor, mental health advocate, and poet. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Accounting from The McCombs School of Business.
At Texas, she left her name in the record books becoming the first UT women’s basketball player to garner over 1000 points, 1000 rebounds and 200 blocks. She was drafted 10th overall in the 2016 WNBA Draft to the Chicago Sky and has since played for the Atlanta Dream and Dallas Wings. She has also played professionally overseas in Turkey, China, Israel, Australia, and Lebanon.

While her 6’7” frame made her presence felt on the court, she left her biggest impact off the court when she chose to speak out about her struggles with mental health and overcoming her abusive childhood on SportsCenter in a segment called SC Featured: Her Voice.

In college, she stumbled across her life purpose: providing a voice to the silenced. She now takes every opportunity she can to live in her truth and hopefully provide light to those going through or who have been through the same struggles.

In the spring of 2020, she announced that she is stepping away for the next two WNBA seasons to pursue a Juris Doctor degree from Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles.

Al-Farouq Aminu

Basketball

Served as envoy

  • 2022  –  Singapore

Al-Farouq Aminu is a professional basketball player who last played for the Chicago Bulls. A native of Atlanta, Aminu was a highly rated recruit who chose to attend Wake Forest University. While at Wake, he excelled and landed on the ACC All-Freshman team. After his first year on campus, he declared for the 2010 NBA Draft. Aminu was selected 8th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers and within 8 games had notched his first 20-point contest. In 2011, he was traded to the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans, where he spent the next four seasons. Aminu went on to have stints with the Mavericks, Trail Blazers, Magic and most recently the Bulls. He also plays internationally for the Nigerian national basketball team.