Art McMaster serves as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Miss America Organization. He works closely with the Organization’s Board of Directors to lead and manage all organizational operations including finance, administration, security and production. Additionally, McMaster oversees the fifty-two state scholarship programs, sponsorship development and serves as executive producer of the Miss America Pageant.
McMaster brings more than 20 years of international financial and executive management experience to his position. He joined the Miss America Organization in 1999 as Controller, and then was promoted to the position of Vice President of Finance in 2000, Acting President / CEO in 2004 and Permanent President & CEO in 2007.
Prior to joining the Miss America Organization, McMaster served as Senior Planner and Assistant to Vice President for a Saudi Arabian Oil Company in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Previous to that, he served as Controller for the engineering firm of Day and Zimmerman and also served as Field Administration Manager for Raytheon Engineers, Philadelphia. In both capacities, he was involved in corporate strategic planning, the development of hundred million dollar budgets and the creation of financial management and reporting systems.
McMaster earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, and has completed the Executive Financial Management Program at the University of Michigan. Active in his community, McMaster serves as a Eucharistic Minister with the Holy Family Parish and is a member of the Knights of Columbus. McMaster resides in Sewell, New Jersey, with his wife Theresa. He has three daughters and two grandchildren.
Michael Allegretto, Director of Operations
Michael Allegretto serves as the Director of Operations for the Miss America Organization. Allegretto is the former Executive Director of the Miss New Jersey Education Foundation. He became a volunteer in the Miss America Program in 1995, and also served a two-year term on the board of the National Association of Miss America State Pageants (NAMASP).
Allegretto is retired from the city of Ocean City, New Jersey - Recreation Division where he worked for 35 years, most recently as the Director of Recreations and Special Events. He is the recipient of the Cape May County Golden Whelk Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence in Tourism and also the Sportsperson of the Decade award for his work with the youth of Ocean City. Allegretto is a veteran of the United States Naval Reserve and has been married to his wife Kathy for 36 years. They have a daughter Kristi, son Michael, daughter-in-law Lisa, and three grandchildren Kari, Gavin and Alexis.
Sharon Pearce, Director of Communications
Sharon Pearce is the Director of Communications for the Miss America Organization. She is responsible for handling all internal and external communications efforts for the Miss America Organization, as well as securing publicity appearances for the current Miss America. She is also responsible for creating sponsorships on the national level and overseeing the web site for MAO.
Pearce is a casino resort industry veteran who worked in Atlantic City for the last 22 years. She most recently held the position of Regional Vice President of Advertising and Public Relations for Caesars Entertainment, where she managed an $11 million annual budget as well as overseeing the in-house media buying efforts for 22 markets in the Eastern and Mid-South regions of the country. In that position she oversaw all public relations and advertising operations for Bally's, Caesars and Hilton Casino Resorts.
She resides in Ventnor, New Jersey with her husband and daughter.
Kirk Ryder, Director of Field Marketing and Head of the Las Vegas office
Kirk Ryder serves as the Director of Field Marketing and Head of the Miss America Organization’s Las Vegas office. He is responsible for working with all 52 State Organizations on fundraising efforts, focusing particularly on our platform partner, Children’s Miracle Network. Kirk is a 20-year veteran of the entertainment industry who most recently held the position of Talent Relations Manager for Showtime Networks in Los Angeles, California. While there, he oversaw every aspect of celebrity appearances for the network. For five years prior to that, he worked in the William Morris Agency’s Television Talent and Packaging departments.
Kirk is an honors graduate of The Julliard School in New York City. He has danced all over the world – as a guest artist with Japanese ballet companies, as a featured adagio couple in the Closing Ceremonies of the Barcelona Olympics, as a soloist with Netherlands Dance Theater, and as a featured dancer in the latest hit Broadway revival of “Guys & Dolls!” – just to name a few highlights.
