Ashley Leonard of Southern Pines, N.C., was crowned Miss Moore County 2027 on Sept. 26, 2026, at the Bradshaw Performing Arts Center in Pinehurst.
Leonard takes the title with a community service initiative that began with her own childhood. Love Doesn’t Hurt: Advocating for Healthy Relationships grew out of her experience as a childhood survivor of domestic violence and the stigma she saw surrounding it. She started a podcast in 2021 to work against that stigma, and Love Doesn’t Hurt is now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
“Love Doesn’t Hurt was born from my own experience as a childhood survivor of domestic violence,” Leonard said. “I witnessed firsthand the stigma surrounding domestic violence and was determined to help shatter it.”
The initiative has reached audiences around the globe, and Leonard describes the work as “empowering women to leave unhealthy relationships and helping them find a path forward toward a beautiful life.” She has also spoken to hundreds of middle and high school students across North Carolina, teaching them how to build healthy relationships before unhealthy patterns begin.
“I will never forget the first time I realized that my story had reached a high school student whose experience was similar to mine,” Leonard said. After one of those visits, a teacher emailed her to say that a student had reached out for help about their situation for the first time. “She wanted me to know that my words were truly making a difference in people’s lives.”
Leonard is a second-year graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-Chapel Hill), pursuing a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Nutrition and Dietetics. She is studying to become a Registered Dietitian, will graduate in May, and plans to start her own nutrition consulting business focused on women’s health and wellness.
In the talent category Leonard performs “Czardas” on violin, a piece she chose to showcase 14 years of playing and because she says it reflects her personality, “serious and focused at times, but always with a fun and playful side.” She has 20 years of dance experience as well, beginning at age 3 and trained primarily in ballet. She held the titles of Miss Carolina Foothills 2025 and Miss Randolph County 2024.
Of the organization that brought her to this point, Leonard said she entered “as a shy fifteen-year-old who had never spoken on a stage but wanted to make an impact,” and has since learned that her worth “is not defined by a crown, but by the confidence and purpose I’ve gained both with and without one.”
Leonard will represent Moore County at the Miss North Carolina competition in June 2027.
Leonard can be followed on Instagram at @missmoorecounty_nc.
