Current Program Leaders
Brian Murphy - Director of Basketball
Brian Murphy is the founder of Smile Sports. For Smile Sports he is the acting program director for basketball and leads the international team trips.
Brian is a long time college basketball coach that has participated in 24 NCAA Tournament games and has traveled to 25 countries during his Basketball career. Brian is also a USA Basketball and FIBA certified coach.
Murphy has coached for eight highly regarded academic and athletic universities across the county and has learned for some of the top coaches in the nation. His coaching stops have included Pomana-Pitzer Colleges, Bethany College, West Virginia University, Loyola University, SUNY Morrisville, Franklin and Marshall College, Case Western Reserve University and currently Elmhurst University.
Murphy resides in Chicago, IL and is looking forward to his next trip to the Philippines.
Dr. Ethel Alfaro - Director of Oral Health
Dr. Ethel is one of the most well regarded dentist in the greater Chicago area. For Smile Sports, Ethel will lead the Oral Health Education aspect of the youth sports camps. Dentistry is her way of giving back to the community, changing lives one smile at a time. She lives by the quote from Charlie Chaplin: “You’ll find that life is still worthwhile if you just smile.”
Her warmth, compassion, and commitment align perfectly with our Smile Sports mission. She believes that oral health is the key to a wonderful and comfortable life. She strongly believes that with vulnerability comes compassion.
She performed a wide array of full-mouth rehabilitations and advanced oral surgeries catering to the underserved communities in Cleveland. During her CDI residency, she earned the leadership role of Chief Dental Resident, where she was responsible for helping train and mentor her junior colleagues in a variety of patient treatments.
Dr. Ethel also holds a Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree from Centro Escolar University in Manila, Philippines.
History of Smile Sports
Smile Sports was created from the original ideas of the non-profit Travelbond. Travelbond led international team trips consisting of United States college players, coaches and educators that set out to make a difference in poverty areas globally.
The team traveled to multiple cities throughout Kenya, led basketball camps and learned about a variety of difficult problems that they hoped to help solve through youth sports programs. With the help and generosity of the Kenya Basketball Federation, Dr. Khama Rogo and many local leaders the initial trips were a success.
Current and Previous Advisors and Leaders
Dr. Khama Rogo
We are forever grateful for the help of Dr. Khama Rogo. He played an enormous role in making our first trips to Kenya a success. He connected the Travelbond team with the Kenya Basketball Federation, Granny Obama, The Kenya Minister of Education, multiple top schools and programs while also attending all of our games and youth camps. Truely an amazing person.
Dr. Rogo founded several groundbreaking institutions in Kenya, including the Nairobi Oncology Centre—East Africa's first specialist cancer care and advisory clinic—the Nairobi Women's Hospital (a specialized center for women, including victims of gender-based violence), and the Sagam Community Hospital in rural Siaya.
He served as the Lead Health Sector Specialist and Head of the World Bank Group's Health in Africa Initiative, a program that mobilized well over USD5 billion in new health sector investments in Africa and led reforms of over 60 health laws and regulations.
Dr. Rogo is the recipient of the prestigious Margaret Sanger Award in 2004 for founding K-MET, an extensive network of private reproductive healthcare providers in Africa. In 2019, he received the first Kenya Lifetime Service Achievement Award for Excellence and Quality Health Care.
He was also honored with the Inspire2Live Patient Advocate Hero of Cancer Award in 2022 for his patient-first approach to cancer care.
Academic and Advisory Roles: A prolific author of over 100 peer-reviewed papers and books, he has held numerous adjunct professorial appointments and advised major international organizations, including the WHO, UNFPA, and UNICEF. He is a past president of the Kenya Medical Association and the Kenya Obstetrical and Gynecological Society.
Dr. Rogo Encourages Kids To Dream Big
Coach Alan Walls
Alan Walls was Team Travelbond 2nd Head Coach and has acted as an advisor to Smile Sports in the past.
He is an American international basketball coach and administrator, known for his extensive experience across various levels of the sport. He most recently served as the Head Coach for the Malta men's national team, leading them to a silver medal in the 2022 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries. He is also the founder of The HoopVine, a news center for basketball coaching and front-office news.
- Recent Coaching Role: Served as the Head Coach for the Malta men's national team from 2022 to 2023, winning a silver medal at the FIBA European Championship for Small Countries.
- Experience: Has over 30 years of experience in coaching and administration at youth, high school, NCAA, professional, and national team levels in 17 countries.
Coach Chris Harney
Chris Harney was the first Team Travelbond Head Coach in Kenya. He is the head coach at St. Mary's College in MD.
He enters his 21st season at the helm of the Seahawk men's basketball program in 2025-26. Harney is one of the top coaches in Division III, maintaining St. Mary's College in the conference, regional, and national spotlights.
Under Harney's leadership, the Seahawks have collected 10 winning seasons, six Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) regular-season championship titles, six 20-plus win campaigns, five NCAA Tournament berths, four NCAA Sweet 16 appearances, and two NCAA Elite 8 showings.
Brian Shaw
Travelbond Board Secretary
Brian Hearn
Travelbond Board Chair
Bryan Murray
Travelbond Board Vice Chair
Kevin Keane
Travelbond Board Treasurer
Francis Murphy
Smile Sports Kids Programs Advisor
Michael Murphy
Smile Sports Youth Basketball Advisor
Greg Carroll
NCAA Compliance Advisor
Ben Moulton
Smile Sports Team Travel Advisor
Thomas Murphy
Men's Basketball Development
Raymond J Barry
Cultural Advisor
Lucie Rogo
African Environmental Advisor
Corwith Davis III
Our #1 - We Miss You Brother!!
Granny Obama
Orphanage Advisor - RIP Granny we enjoyed our conversations with you!!
Featured Article on D3Hoops
First Founding Travel Team Members
The initial six basketball players and college volunteers really deserve all of the credit for the success of Smile Sports and Travelbond projects. These guys were absolutely amazing to jump on that first airplane to Kenya and trust the process.
Max Needle
Ed Early
Patrick Corrigan
Hampton Sydney College
Since our initial trip Patrick has become a basketball coach and has worked his way up to becoming the Head Coach at Ferrum College.
Joe Ives
Joe Ives attended Eastern Conneticut State where he played on the men's basketball team for 4 years.
Max Brewer
Franklin and Marshall College
Max Brewer was the recipient of the All-State Good Works Award that was presented at half time of the men's division I Final Four. The award goes to 10 United States Athletes that have shown exemplary work in humanitarian projects. Max worked in both South Africa and Kenya on multiple occasions. He was also a member of the Franklin and Marshall men's basketball teams that went to the NCAA Elite 8. He additionally joined our mission working as a coach in Kenya.
Matt Newell
Notable Travel Volunteers
Dave Apple
Simon Says Two Thumbs Up
Partner Schools in Kenya
Maseno School
Upper Hill School
Kenya Local Leaders
The leadership in Kenya was extremely welcoming. We worked with multiple Orphanages, Schools, Hospitals, NGO's, Health Leaders, Cultural Groups, the Minister of Education, the Kenya Basketball Federation, School Athletic Directors and many local community volunteers. We will be reconnecting to our programs in Kenya in the near future as we begin to build new programs in the Philippines.
