Meet the Founder of the Miss Juneteenth America Pageant
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Justus Kelley just made history as Miss USA 2026. She’s the first married woman, and the first woman in her 30s to win the pageant, Miss USA confirmed to TODAY.com.
The day after the Miss Virginia winner was crowned Miss USA 2026 on Aug. 27, Kelley tells TODAY.com what the moment of being crowned felt like.
“I feel like I left my heart on that stage, and I was so proud of what I had done this week, not just on stage, but each piece of how I decided to show up, bringing a message with me, doing everything with purpose and a mission in mind,” Kelley says.
“That, for me, is what I came to do, and so I really did feel like no matter what happens, I feel like I won. I just felt so much peace. I felt contentment.”
Until recent rule changes in 2023 and 2024, Miss USA prohibited women who were over the age of 28, or who were mothers, pregnant, married or divorced from entering the pageant.
As part of Miss USA’s 75th year celebration, Kelley was joined on stage by legacy queens.
“What we’re doing is only because of the shoulders that we’re standing on, the people that came before us,” Kelley says of meeting the legacy queens.
“I literally had to do my best to contain my excitement all week as I was meeting different former Miss USA’s, just in disbelief that I was meeting them in real life,” Kelley says. “These are women that I follow on social media and have followed throughout the years, and have looked up to them for so much of my life. So to now have these women be people that are welcoming me into a sisterhood just felt like a dream.”
Kelley is a foster parent. She and her husband, Tyler Kelley, are currently foster parents to a sibling set and have fostered previous children. Kelley is also the founder of Foster Footprints, a DMV-based foster support program.
She says she looks at her pageants, and the newest title, as a bigger way to raise awareness about the realities of foster care.
“I went to Miss USA, and I thought, how can I be intentional about my message and my purpose? Just being embedded in everything that I do,” she says.
“I’m very honest and transparent with people about how much I’ve learned since becoming a foster parent,” Kelley adds. “I had a little bit of an ignorance as to what kids would experience. I kind of assumed that every child in this situation must come from an awful situation or an awful parent. And my reality and what I’ve seen from the kiddos that have come into my home is they are coming oftentimes from families that deeply love them but are struggling, have fallen on hard times, are having housing crises and dealing with addiction.”
Kelley’s commitment to shedding light on the realities of the U.S. foster care system is evident in her Miss USA campaign. As she traveled to Miami, where this year’s competition was hosted, she carried trash bags. In an Instagram post, she explained why.
“The trash bags I carry reflect a reality far too many foster children know all too well. A trash bag should never be a child’s suitcase. Every foster child deserves to carry their belongings with dignity — and I need you to help me make that possible,” Kelley wrote in the caption.
The Arlington resident, who holds a master’s degree in public health administration, is also a senior philanthropic adviser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Arlington, according to her LinkedIn.
With pageant competitions as one of her many hustles, Kelley finds community. She tells TODAY.com what went into her decision to pursue the contests.
“I was a freshman or maybe sophomore in college at the time, just looking for community, looking for like-minded, strong women that wanted to empower and support each other, looking for those types of friendships,” she says. “I found that with pageant women, after doing my first one, I just loved it. I loved the experience and what I got out of it, being in a room full of women that inspire me. That is what keeps me coming back.”
Kelley says her family could not have been more supportive and proud throughout her pageant journey. She says they have been a part of this journey for several years, and that this dream of hers has become theirdream.
“My husband keeps calling himself Mr. USA. I don’t know if that’s a thing. Every family member I talk to, they’re like, ‘I can’t believe I’m Miss USA’s aunt. I can’t believe I’m Miss USA’s sister,’ and I’m like, ‘What? Bro, I can’t believe I’m Miss USA.’ This is just the coolest thing for all of us.”
