Jewish Miss Wyoming: Representing Jewish Women Across America

Jewish Miss Wyoming’s Fight Against Antisemitism

Thursday at 7:00pm PST

Since its inception in 1921, there has only been one Jewish woman to hold the crown of Miss America. Hazel Homer-Wambeam, the first Jewish Miss Wyoming, sets out to change that in this year’s competition while promoting body positivity and fighting Jewish stereotypes along the way. 

Inspired by her own experience with antisemitic comments about her appearance, Hazel founded the EveryBODY Dance initiative, which encourages people of all shapes, sizes, identities, cultures and backgrounds to accept and love their bodies. In conversation with AJU’s Chief Innovation Officer Rabbi Sherre Hirsch, Hazel will discuss her Jewish journey to the crown, how she broke barriers and overcame stereotypes, and her hope to inspire other Jewish women to embrace what they are capable of.

Hazel Homer-Wambeam was crowned Miss Wyoming 2022 in June, and this coming December, she will represent Wyoming by competing for the title of Miss America. Hazel is the first Jewish woman to win the title of Miss Wyoming and hopes to become the first Miss Wyoming and second Jewish woman to ever win Miss America. One of Hazel's major goals is to spread the message throughout her year that Miss America is no longer a beauty pageant, but rather a scholarship program that empowers all women, and she does this through her social impact initiative about body positivity. Hazel grew up in Laramie, Wyoming and is a senior at the University of Wyoming studying Theatre and Dance Performance, Political Science, and Honors.

Rabbi Sherre Hirsch is the Chief Innovation Officer at American Jewish University. She made headlines as the first female rabbi at Sinai Temple, the largest Conservative congregation on the west coast. She served as Senior Rabbinic Scholar at Hillel International, where she created and developed Hillelwell, an initiative for Hillels worldwide to become the recognized address for preventative mental health. A thought leader and author on spirituality and religion, Rabbi Hirsch has appeared on the Today Show, ABC News, Extra, and PBS, among other outlets, and has been a contributor to Time.com, Oprah Magazine, the Jewish Journal, the Hollywood Journal, and more.