The Miss America Organization announced Thursday the preliminary judges for its September competition. 
It will be this panel, over the course of three days of preliminary competition -- on Sept. 6, Sept. 7 and Sept. 8 -- to score the 52 contestants in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and whittle that list down to the Top 15.
Those women will go on to compete for the Miss America 2017 title, which will be broadcast live on ABC starting at 9 p.m. on Sept. 11. The eventual titleholder, who will take the crown from current Miss America Betty Cantrell, will be selected by the celebrity finale judging panel.
Several members of the finale judging panel were announced earlier in August, and included entrepreneur Mark Cuban, actress Sara Foster, country singer-songwriter Cole Swindell and Miss America 1985 Sharlene Wells Hawkes. Other finale judges are expected to be revealed in the coming weeks. 

RELATED

The preliminary judges are as follows: 
  • Katherine Bailess: An actress, most recently known for her role as Kyle Hart on "Hit The Floor." She has also held recurring roles on shows such as "Anger Management," "Gilmore Girls," and "One Tree Hill." She also stars in the popular web series, "Sh%t Southern Women Say."
  • Rob Bowman: A well-known music director, most known for his work withthe late Elaine Stritch as her arranger, pianist and conductor. Bowman has also worked with Broadway stars Bernadette Peters, Nathan Lane and others. 
  • Debbie Bryant Berge: Miss America 1966, and the first Miss America to come from the state of Kansas. She would go on to commentate on the pageants in 1969 and 1970 before going on to a career in public relations in Arizona. 
  • Jennifer Caudle: Also known as Dr. Jen, Caudle is an assistant professor at the School of Osteopathic Medicine at Rowan University. She's been featured on several television and radio shows as a medical expert, including "The Doctor Oz Show" on FOX news and CNN. Caudle also has Miss America ties, competing in the 1999 Miss America pageant as Miss Iowa.
  • Nicole Lapin: A New York Times bestselling author, Lapin also stars in the reality business competition "Hatched" on the CW. She has anchored television programs on CNN, CNBC and Bloomberg, as well as acted as a money-saving correspondent for "The Wendy Williams Show" and "The Insider."
  • Deanna Siller: Siller works as a partner and Global Strategy Leader atGensler, an architecture, planning and consulting firm based in Philadelphia. She also acted as the former chairman of the board for Dance Place, based in Washington D.C.
  • David Zinczenko: Zinczenko is founder and chief executive officer ofGalvanized, a media company focused on health and wellness. He also launched Women's Health magazine, and current is the editorial director of Men's Fitness. He has authored 14 New York Times bestselling books, including "Eat This, Not That!" 
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/missamerica/meet-your-miss-america-competition-preliminary-judges/article_8deff6d6-655d-11e6-84cf-13cc6777361b.html