From the Field of Interview
Alicia joined the ABC Columbia family in May 2008. She serves as a Primary Anchor for WOLO-TV and co-anchors the evening news at ABC Columbia’s downtown street-side studio on Main and Gervais, weekdays at 6 and 11 p.m. She is a graduate of Clemson University. Alicia has a passion for the arts and finding a cure for breast cancer. She is a board member for the Palmetto Heath Cancer Foundation. Alicia was a torch bearer with the Olympic flame through her hometown of Atlanta for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
Dorothy Benham
From the Field of Performing Arts
Dorothy, Miss America 1977, is a classically trained lyric-coloratura soprano having performed in stage productions from Opera to Broadway. She was an original cast member of the Tony and Grammy Award winning show, "Jerome Robbins Broadway." Dorothy has been a guest artist with symphony orchestras throughout the country and performed the title role of Sonia in the Connecticut Opera Company’s production of "The Merry Widow." Other highlights of her musical career have been performing with Bob Hope, Doc Severinson, with the USO at the Statue of Liberty Bi-Centennial Celebration for President and Mrs. Reagan and as a frequent guest on "The Hour of Power" from the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif. Dorothy was a featured performer and co-host of the Miss America Pageant and was hired as a guest host with Shop NBC. She is the mother of six and grandmother to two.
David Clegg
From the Field of Community Service
David is a resident of Raleigh, N.C. and is Deputy Chairman and COO of the North Carolina Employment Security Commission. He was the executive director of the Miss Brunswick County Pageant and was the Scholarship Chairman of the Miss North Carolina Pageant. He is the President of the Miss North Carolina 75th Anniversary Celebration, highlighted by the opening of a retrospective exhibition about the pageant at the State Museum of History. He is the recipient of the North Carolina Governor’s Award for Excellence in Public Service and the U.S. Unemployment Insurance Legal Award of Merit. David received a Bachelor’s Degree in Government from Hampden-Sydney College and a Master of Arts Degree in Theatre and Speech from the University of South Carolina. He received the Juris Doctor Degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists.
Mark Hinson
From the Field of Education
Mark is Chief Human Resource Officer for Colorado’s fifth largest school district. He is on the Board of Directors for The Boettcher Teacher Program that prepares quality teachers for high need urban schools. This unique program was highlighted on NBC Nightly News. Mark received a Bachelor’s Degree in Organizational Communication and his Masters of Education in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Central Florida. He served as vice chair of a national workforce committee focused on preparing students to successfully enter the workforce. Mark served as executive director for the 1992 Miss Winter Park Pageant whose winner, Leanza Cornett, became Florida’s first Miss America. Mark has attended the Miss America Pageant consecutively for the past 23 years.
Lisa Perez Miller
From the Field of Communication
Lisa is a vice president at Pratt Community College in Kansas. She received her Master of Education Degree from Wichita State University and her Bachelor’s Degree from Kansas State University. Actively involved in the Miss America system for the past 26 years, Lisa is the president of the Miss Kansas Board of Directors, where she served as the executive director until 2010. Lisa serves on the Kansas Chief Student Affairs Administrators committee and the Higher Learning Commission Academic Quality Improvement Program Steering Committee. She is a public speaker, consultant and seminar facilitator in the areas of communication, marketing, leadership, board development and personal/professional development.