Miss USA 2008 Crystle Stewart is now the national director for the Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageant system, as the Miss Universe Organization announces that it is licensing both pageants to the former titleholder, actress and entrepreneur.
“I’m so thrilled, and I’m so excited for the new things and the new ideas that I want to bring to the Miss USA pageant system. Miss USA will be pageantry re-imagined,” Stewart said in exclusive interview with “Good Morning America”, adding that her first step as director will be re-branding the the Miss USA system and making it “more uniform” across the board.
Stewart’s new leadership role has been in the talks for over a year and was finalized this summer, said Miss Universe Organization president Paula Shugart. “I am so happy the future of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA are in such capable hands, and I am really looking forward to working with her,” she added.
For Stewart, being a Black woman in leadership at the organization during a period of racial reckoning in the country is significant. She hopes her new role “inspires and influences women like myself of different colors and races, and also men as well, to pursue your dreams without fault and with confidence, go for it and reach higher.”
The first pageant that will take place under Stewart’s leadership will be Miss USA 2021 and Miss Teen USA 2021. The winner of the Miss USA competition will move to Los Angeles instead of living in New York City like previous winners. Missosology.Org
