Miss Wayne County must be talented, intelligent and well-spoken, a leader, have a commitment to her community, be contemporary in her style and fashion - a relatable and individual "it girl" who can connect with today's modern woman, as well as being physically fit.  To determine who will be Miss Wayne County 2011, the following uniquely qualified panel of judges has been selected:
 

Iora is a graduate of Madonna University with a Master’s Degree in Nursing Administration and worked as an RN, teacher, and administrator for 13 years in various hospital settings. Then for ten years, she served in her church as a Parish Nurse in the role of Pastor of Congregational Care.

In addition to her professional career, Iora was able to spend some time as a stay at home mom raising her two children and for fifteen years of this period, actively volunteered in the Miss America Organization. Iora was required to step away from her volunteer status with MAO when daughter Kirsten decided to compete for the title of Miss Oakland County in 2006. You may know the story, Kirsten became Miss Oakland County that year and 18 months later, Kirsten Haglund from Michigan was crowned Miss America 2008.

With the completion of Kirsten’s reign, Iora now is Appearance/Business Manager and travel companion for Kirsten. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Kirsten Haglund Foundation for Eating Disorders and is happy to be able to return to her volunteerism within the Miss America Organization.

Dr. Michele Leno is a 37-year-old Detroit native.  She is a Licensed Psychologist providing clinical services to adolescents and adults throughout Wayne and Oakland Counties.  Dr. Leno is particularly interested in adolescent development and behavior.

She also makes time for personal enjoyment.  Dr. Leno enjoys traveling, massage, and attending social events.  She tries to maintain her health by working out at least four times a week.

Dr. Leno has limited modeling experience, although this was certainly an area of interest for her throughout adolescence and early adulthood.  She now finds it comforting to live vicariously through others that have the discipline and drive to move forward relentlessly.  She also believes that a stable sense of self is essential to being a successful role model.

Jennifer Beste holds her Masters Degree in Human Resource Administration and has her Senior Professional Human Resources Certification.  Her human resources career has spanned over twelve years in the automotive industry with three different employers.  She is currently a Human Resources Manager with Automotive Components Holdings, LLC. 

Jennifer has over twenty years of dance training, specializing in ballet and ballet en pointe.  She has also held the title of Miss Monroe County 1993, and now serves on the Miss Monroe County Scholarship Program Board of Directors, in addition to being a member of the Junior League of Ann Arbor.  In her free time, she practices yoga, enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and traveling through the U.S. with her mother and sister.  Her favorite role is Auntie Jen (aka fairy godmother) to her nephews, Garrick and Graham.

Mike grew up in Detroit and credits his success to his Irish roots, Catholic Schools, and his parents, Joann & the late Larry Kelly, who taught him “work ethics and how to treat all people with respect.”  He played football at Central Michigan University and graduated in 1982 with a BS in Business Administration. 

Mike was hired by a nationwide environmental contracting firm and spent 7 years as a Project Manager working and traveling in the South East including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.   He tired of the traveling life moved back to Michigan and married his high school sweetheart, Maureen Collins.  Mike went to work for The Burdco Group as a Senior Project Manager running large environmental projects in Detroit, Grand Rapids and Chicago.  Mike started Environmental Maintenance Engineers in December of 1996 and has not looked back. 

Mike is very active with charitable organizations and the Detroit Irish Community.  He is the past President of the St. Valentine Men’s Club, a member of Monaghan Knight of Columbus, Vice President of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, Stephen Walsh Division and Vice President of the United Irish Societies.  Mike has been the Chairman of the Detroit St. Patrick’s Parade for the past 12 years and has served on various committees and fund raisers for the UIS.  Mike has also been the Master of Ceremony for the Ladies AOH Rose Kennedy, Court of St. Brigid Scholarship Pageant and the Maid of Erin Pageant.  Mike believes that participating in Miss Wayne County is an educational opportunity that develops character, builds confidence and self esteem for the contestants.  All pageant contestants here tonight are winners!      

Mike and his wife Maureen have three beautiful children, Matthew, Colleen, and Brigid.  They are members of St. Valentine Parish and reside in Livonia.

After completing her undergraduate studies at Hope College, Detroit native Octavia Huizenga represented the state as Miss Michigan 2005 in the 2006 Miss America competition in Las Vegas.  Since then, Octavia has become a published journalist and transitioned her graduate journalism education into a career with an international public relations firm.  In her career, Octavia had the pleasure of executing national PR campaigns including Nestle Purina’s involvement with the film Marley and Me, the United States Mint’s $1 Coin Pilot Program, as well as McDonald’s McCafé 2009 debut at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City.

Currently, Octavia, who speaks four languages, is emerging on a new career path with emergency medical studies.  In her spare time, Octavia enjoys volunteering at hospitals and urban youth programs and writing children’s novels.  She continues to play the cello, her Miss America talent, frequently performing for special events, teaching private lessons, and with her church praise band.  She now lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband Joe, Reverend at Roseland Christian Reformed Church; their two sons, Steven (4 years) and Michael (2 years); and their black lab, Peter.