SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rhiannon Jones recently took home the crown in the first Miss Oakland pageant in 10 years — but she says she competed for more than just the title.
A flight attendant in Oakland by day, Jones says she spends much of her free time working in youth advocacy, like her work as a California Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).
Currently living with her partner in Sacramento, Jones spoke to ABC10 about why she entered the Miss Oakland pageant competition and what she hopes to achieve with her newfound title.
Q: How did you compete for Miss Oakland?
A: To me, it's a really cool story. I've been working with the Miss America organization for a few years now, and I used to be Miss Sonoma County while I was attending Sonoma State University where I graduated in 2020. There's a Miss Sacramento County pageant here and they have a title holder as well.
I'm really passionate about community service, that sounds kind of cheesy, but I really like getting involved. Volunteering with the Miss America organization kind of gives me a platform to be able to showcase a lot of organizations that are making a difference. For example, I'm a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate).
Q: What is a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)?
A: The idea of the court appointed special advocate is to be the eyes and ears of the court and the voice of the child going through a court process. So essentially, kind of like having a mentor. You're involved with foster youth, you get to hang out with them and just advocate for their needs
So that can be, for example, if the youth wants to be with their family even though they've been removed — you can voice that to the court if they don't. If foster youth need extracurricular activities or are struggling in school, you can advocate for them to get tutoring through the state and other opportunities like that. They have a lot more hope in their life when they have a CASA. I think the biggest thing is just having someone who listens to them and is on their side.
Q: Why did you decide to compete for Miss Oakland?
The way that Miss America organization eligibility works is that you can live, work or go to school in the area of the pageant. I have plans to relocate to that area, because I work out of the Oakland International Airport and my partner actually works in the area as well.
I've just seen the great people that are there. I did a lot of research, leading up to this project, about local organizations that are passionate about serving in the community. I'm really excited to help out, and promote CASA because there are so many foster youth in the Bay Area. In Alameda County there's like 300 CASAs and more than 1,000 children who don't have a CASA.
I think the biggest thing for me is I'm here to prove people wrong. Just because I'm not currently residing in Oakland doesn't mean I don't have the opportunity to make any impact on that area. Oakland is my second home. Being able to show up and provide a platform even for different opportunities and organizations that people might not know exists — it's a big thing.
