Sports Envoy
Sports Envoy Program

Year: 2023

Jennifer Ruiz Williams

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2023  –  Colombia

Jennifer Ruiz Williams is the current head coach at UNLV in Las Vegas, NV & has a United States Soccer ‘A’ License. Prior to coaching, she competed in the NWSL with Reign FC. From the age of 19 to 33, Ruiz Williams played with the Mexican National Team. She competed in the 2015 World Cup, earned three Pan American Games medals, qualified for the Olympics, & played in several other international games & tournaments. Ruiz Williams has also spent time with CBS Sports as a TV analyst. She is a Teach for America alumna with an MA from Loyola Marymount and a BA from UNLV, where she played collegiately.

Brett Kurtz

Ice Hockey

Served as envoy

  • 2023  –  Latvia

Brett Kurtz is currently the Senior Manager for Fan Development Marketing for the National Hockey League’s Anaheim Ducks and oversees the award-winning Anaheim Ducks S.C.O.R.E. (Scholastic Curriculum of Recreation & Education) program using the sport of hockey to teach in-class educational initiatives benefiting 50,000 children annually.

Kurtz, originally from Joliet, Illinois developed his passion for the game of hockey playing with his older brothers. He attended the University of Wisconsin on a hockey scholarship where he made two final four appearances with one national championship title.

He received his B.A. in Communication Arts from Wisconsin. After playing professional hockey in Sweden, East Coast and West Coast hockey leagues, he enrolled in graduate school at Loyola Marymount Film School in Los Angeles, California receiving a MFA in Radio, Television, and Film.

After completing his degree, Kurtz embarked on a television and film career both in front and behind the camera working in network television, feature films, and live hockey broadcasts.

During that time, Kurtz continued his connection with hockey by coaching youth hockey development programs and club teams including the Jr. Kings, Jr. Ducks, and Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League.

Kurtz now lives with his family in Orange County, California. He continues to use his background in ice hockey, and knowledge of the film and television industries to encourage and positively effect change in his community.

Molly Schaus

Ice Hockey

Served as envoy

  • 2023  –  Latvia

Molly played goalie on the U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey team from 2008-2015, winning 2 Olympic Silver Medals and 4 IIHF World Championships. She graduated from Boston College in 2011 with a degree in Human Development and was named to the BC Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2018. She has 10+ years of experience working in youth sports, community engagement, and education, including 5 years with the Anaheim Ducks Fan Development team. She is currently an Athlete Fellow for LA28, the Organizing Committee for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games and a youth hockey coach for the Anaheim Lady Ducks.

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.

Christina Murillo

Soccer

Served as envoy

  • 2022  –  Montenegro
  • 2023  –  Colombia

Christina Murillo Sanchez is currently a Director for Chicago Fire FC and oversees 13u-15U age groups as well as being an Olympic Development Coach. She supports the Chicago community in her role through fundraising and outreach efforts that support with creating more opportunities. She previously was signed to Chicago Red Stars back in 2018 and in 2017 competed in Champions League with Gintra Universitetas getting to the round of 16. She represented the Mexican National Soccer Team from 2009-2018 and participated in the World Cup at the U17, U20, and Senior Level receiving 46 caps with the senior national team . Murillo was one of the first women to be part of the FIFA video game back in 2015. At University of Michigan, she competed with the team from 2011 to 2015 while taking off the 2014 season to train and compete at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She was captain of the University of Michigan and made the all-Big Ten Tournament team her senior year. Murillo currently holds the record for most assists in a game at her university and was the first student athlete from Michigan to participate in a FIFA World Cup at the senior level.