Aleiya Stevens
MarysvilleRaised in the Nevada desert, 22 year old cosmetology graduate Aleiya moved to Washington for personal growth. Aleiya is a first time competitor in this pageant, but not a first timer in the pageant industry. Aleiya competed in the Nevada State Cinderella Girl pageant for 8 years which lead her to participate in dance and cheer growing up. Aleiya has a passion for empowering women and strives to promote awareness for women battling domestic violence.
Alex Distelhorst
Lake UnionAlex, 24, works as a Data Engineer and graduated from Western Washington University with B.S. Management Information Systems and B.A. Chinese Language and Culture. During school, she won an award from the Multicultural Ambassador Program and Global Ambassador. She is a multilingual and multi-cultural woman through her rich life experience and wants to be a role model for her younger sister. She hopes to pursue her Doctor in Applied Mathematics and host her art exhibition.
Alexandra Aqua
West Seattle
Aliyah Lawson
SeattleAliyah Lawson is a Jamaican American living in Seattle, Washington with aspirations of becoming an international health consultant. Always one for challenges, she balances working full-time in a busy emergency department while pursuing her bachelor’s in Health Management and Leadership. As a strong proponent of mental health, she believes the mental health system needs reform. Outside of healthcare, Aliyah’s creative side flourishes. She loves singing songs from Hamilton and creating photoseries about self-love and relationships.
Aly Welch
PalouseAly Welch is a cosmetologist with a Bachelor’s Degree in English from ASU. From a family with over 150 years of military history, Aly is a patriot who believes that all humans are created equal. Aly is the founder of Haircuts that Help, a free haircut program for anybody in need. An activist for inclusion in the fashion industry, Aly is empowered working behind and in front of a camera as her most authentic self.
Andrea Moreno
PascoAndrea Barbosa Moreno is a 22 year old Mexican immigrant and a first generation college student. She was raised by a single mother due to her fathers drug addiction, and up to this day, Andrea advocates against drug use and mental health awareness. She was a volunteer at the World Relief Center and she is currently a federal officer. She hopes to motivate young women to empower themselves through education and healthy life choices.
Angel Howard
PuyallupAngel, 20, grew up in Puyallup and graduated from Emerald Ridge High school in 2019. She plans on pursuing her dream in painting and wrapping cars and also taking care of homeless animals. With her love for animals she plans on eventually creating her own business to give stray animals a shelter, food, water, and love. If she wins Miss Washington USA she promises to spread her love and care to people everywhere.
Anna Roberts
Whitman CountyAnna was born and raised in Eastern Washington. Her love for animals and agriculture has led her to pursue a career in the animal field and earn a degree in Veterinary Technology to become a licensed Veterinary Technician. She hopes to continue her education in Animal Science to focus on livestock care. Anna has many goals and dreams beyond her career. She hopes to help others realize their potential and live their dreams too.
Awa Joof
GreenlakeAwa is an economics major at Seattle Pacific University who plans to use her degree to serve her community. As someone who believes in the importance of education, Awa is passionate about tutoring disadvantaged youth and encouraging them to go after their academic goals. As someone who comes from a disadvantaged community, she understands the importance of finding your voice and sharing it with others. Awa is also an operations specialist at a tech company.
Brenna Pirozok
BellevueBrenna is a national trainer, social worker, coach, influencer, and entrepreneur who works with people around the country. Her passion is to de-stigmatize mental health and empower people to find purpose through confidence and identity building. With her slogan no one can do it like you, so why do it like anyone else, she helps others discover their full potential and conquer goals in both personal and professional settings. @brennarosee
Celeste Amadon
Downtown SeattleRaised in Seattle, Celeste has spent her young adult life working in politics. She has interned on presidential campaigns and most recently was an intern for Senator Maria Cantwell. This winter Celeste is interning for a Google VP. Celeste is passionate about women’s voices being heard in the political sphere, and plans to forge a career in public service.
Chantel Oh
OlympiaChantel graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Biology and quickly utilized her medical knowledge by serving Washington’s communities as an EMT and Medical Assistant. She sees an overwhelming urgency to destigmatize mental illness and improve mental health care. Chantel now works for an online fashion retailer and hopes to conduct research correlating mental health/ development and fashion. She encourages children to express their creativity by tutoring them in art and dance.
Cierra Nalani Richards
Pierce CountyA summa cum laude doctoral student, this Confidently Beautiful future Air Force Officer gained a global perspective through study abroad in Europe and the Caribbean. As a 20 year American Cancer Society volunteer, she earned the title of Washington State Ambassador Constituent Team Lead. This essential advocate has passed legislation and increased funding at the state and federal levels for the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Edith Gonzalez
Greater King CountyEdith Gonzalez is an entrepreneur, public speaker, community leader, and social media influencer who advocates authentic beauty by beginning with prioritizing one’s mental health. This 23-year-old established a nonprofit organization called Blossom-with-Style and grants wishes to children with critical illnesses at Make-A-Wish Alaska and Washington. Edith is on her pathway to achieve her bachelor’s in science to pursue dentistry – her proudest accomplishment is visiting a foreign country to mentor children about the importance of education.
Gabriella Sturgill
Pike PlaceBorn and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Gabby is happy to call Seattle home. She graduated a year and a half early with her B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Portland, and now works as a Strategic Financial Analyst for Google. She uses her experience to teach Financial Literacy throughout her community and works as a Career Coach for Back on My Feet. She enjoys skiing, spending time with her big family, and traveling.
Jada Graham
Lilac CityJada is a Junior at Eastern Washington University working towards her BA degree in secondary education social studies. Jada is also a member of Alph Omicron phi. She enjoys working on her personal platform, which is childcare awareness; a program to bring light on the growing cost of childcare and how it effects childcare in low income communities. Currently, Jada is working at a childcare development center and has a passion for history and culture.
Jade Cooper
Battle GroundJade is pursuing a biology STEM Major at Clark College in hopes of serving her community as a trauma surgeon. As well as working as a licensed phlebotomist, Jade is an avid advocate for the destigmatization of mental illnesses, where she passionately uses her experience with chronic mental illness to help break the stereotypes and shame around mental illness. In her free time, Jade enjoys exploring the forests, skydiving, and kayaking.”
Jesi Williams
MukitleoJesi is a recent university graduate with her Masters in Business Administration. She is currently working as both a realtor and a developer for multi-family housing projects throughout Snohomish County. Jesi found her calling to work with low income families. Through her Non-profit, Affordable Housing Connection, she provides over 500 families with essential supplies every year. Stay tuned, Jesi will be making her second runway debut at New York Fashion Week this February.
Karley Kearney
Downtown PuyallupKarley will complete her masters degree in Strategic Communication and Leadership this spring. Raised in the Pacific Northwest, she served as an NFL cheerleader for the Seattle Seahawks. Volunteering and giving back were part of being a liaison for the NFL. As a fitness professional, she leads ladies of all ages, aligning their physical and mental abilities to be the best versions of themselves. Karley aspires to impact young women through leading by example.
Kathy Zhang
Greater SeattleKathy attended the University of Maryland and moved to Washington, where she appreciates the beauty of the state and diverse community. Embracing her passion for innovation and inclusion, she works in technology business development and aspires to create a culture of inclusion in the tech industry. Kathy is passionate about universal access to education and resources, especially those in underprivileged communities. In her free time, she coaches local high school and middle school volleyball teams.
Katie Wideman
RedmondKatie has always been a Pacific Northwest gal. She grew up in Southern Oregon, and after receiving her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oregon in 2017, she embarked on a new journey, laying her roots down in Washington. An avid reader and life-long learner, Katie pursued her passion for heath and wellness and turned it into a career by receiving her Holistic Health Coaching Certificate from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. In her free time, Katie enjoys cooking, spending time with loved ones and meditation.
Katrina Cline
King CountyKatrina is a 22 year old women with a loving, helping heart, she seeks adventure and self-worth. Struggling with chasing her dreams of becoming an entrepreneur, she stands for self-love, showing girls it’s okay not to look like societies standards for beauty. She aspires to be able to help people who struggle with substance abuse as well, seeing the damage it has done to people around her. Her interests include spending quality time with the ones she loves.
Katrina Lautenschlager
EndicottKatrina, 27, grew up on a ranch in Washington. She competed on Team USA twice at the World Championships of Performing Arts, before studying Government, Theatre & Communications at EWU and Liberty University. Starting college at 16, she was named “Top Student Activist in the Nation” for two years. After college, Katrina moved to D.C. to work for a national non-profit, founded her first business, launched a podcast, and was Miss Colorado US 2021.
Khocco Exendine
Greater BellevueKhocco, from Peru, studied at a small town of Colan where she was one of the first female track runners and school mayors, inspiring other girls to participate. In the United states, Khocco is an automobile fanatic, working on two cars she owns. She shares these skills through social media alongside other car enthusiasts. After high school, she got a job at Harley Davidson, helping break down gender stereotypes associated with women and motorcycle riding.
Kuinn Karaffa
Grays HarborWith a passion for justice, Kuinn is studying to become an attorney with aspirations to serve on the Supreme Court. Kuinn is a host, fashion influencer, Habitat for Humanity board member, Youth Mentor, and Rotarian. Kuinn is changing lives in Washington, and is a champion for others, helping raise close to one million dollars for non-profits. A farm girl, with show champion chickens, and ribbon winning pie, Kuinn enjoys clamming, playing piano, and mushroom foraging.
Madison Damour
Emerald CityMadison, 26, is proud to call Seattle home. When not traveling the world, you can find her at home spoiling her two Frenchies, Jimmy and Charlie, or working on Wall Street with her career focusing on addressing drug abuse. As a former bodybuilder, Madison is passionate about empowering young women to celebrate their uniqueness.
Maggie Laughlin
TricitiesGraduating from Marymount University, Maggie earned a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Growing up she enjoyed cheerleading, dance and community volunteer work—experiences that instilled a competitive, yet nurturing spirit. Volunteering at Charterhouse School, Maggie’s passion for working with girls from broken homes fueled her career pursuit to shine a light on injustices experienced by those living in marginalized communities. Her ability to amplify voices spurring change led her to Washington as a CBS Reporter/Anchor.
Mazzy Eckel
Capitol HillMazzy is the founder of her Instagram live series “Pursuing Leadership” where she interviews exceptional leaders of Washington State. As a Political Scientist, she passionately speaks on participating in local politics, influencing local communities. Last summer, Mazzy was a social media curator on James Donaldson’s campaign for Seattle Mayor. She volunteers as a fitness instructor at a nonprofit, The Genesis Project, and continues to carry her great-grandmother’s legacy of activism by helping survivors of sex-trafficking.
Nitika Ahmed
North SeattleKirkland native, Nitika is a Certified Life Coach and Psychology graduate of Clark Atlanta University. Life traumas and hardships inspired her to create her own program, Total360Healing, which teaches women tools for self love, self confidence, goal management and self worth. Nitika believes in Habakkuk 2:2 “write the vision and make it plain for whoever reads it shall run to it even though it may tarry for surely it will come at an appointed time.”
Pa Nou Chee Xiong
Snohomish CountyAs a first-generation Hmong American, Panouchee strives to showcase her strengths and ambitions. She is a small business owner, serves as the treasurer for Hmong Association of Washington and is majoring in Anthropology-Biology at Western Washington University. Panouchee is passionate about bridging the gap in global education for kids and adolescents. She believes education will aid individuals with success. In her free time you can find her hiking, traveling, or spending quality time with family.
Robyn Lehan
Downtown VancouverRobyn is 23 years old and is a fulltime student pursuing a degree for elementary education. She is from Vancouver, WA along with her dog, Willow and a home full of plants! During her free time she enjoys reading, playing video games, and being at the beach in 90+ degree weather. Her all-time favorite movies are from the Marvel series, especially Black Widow. She loves traveling and hopes to go to Europe!
Shannon Foster
West Snohomish CountyShannon, a self-taught developer and former startup founder, is a Program Manager at Microsoft currently studying Computer Science. Originally from Maryland, she took a leap of faith and relocated alone to the PNW, where she continues her efforts advocating for women and minorities in tech while supporting local animal rescues like Street Dog Hero. She’s lobbied in DC on emerging technology, such as fintech and cryptocurrencies, and animal welfare in partnership with the Humane Society.
Starla Sampaco
West BellevueStarla is a news anchor at KCTS 9, Seattle’s PBS channel. Outside of journalism, she founded Career Survival Guide, which helps women advocate for themselves in the workplace. As an extension of this work, Starla wrote for Harvard Business Review and was featured by Good Morning America. She also taught graduate students at the University of Washington as an adjunct faculty member. In 2021, Starla made the Puget Sound Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” list.
Taylor Derscheid
ChehalisTaylor is from Chehalis, Washington, she is 21 years old. Her career ambition is to pursue a degree in History and potentially work in one of the big museums in Washington D.C. In her free time Taylor likes to read, craft, listen to music, dance and volunteer at her church when she can as the youth leader and sunday school teacher. She can Speak Mandarin Chinese and is working on a third language
Taylor Mann
KirklandEarly in life, Taylor’s family overcame homelessness. This experience fueled a strong sense of understanding and empowered her to give back by volunteering. She shares her story in hopes to de-stigmatize and be a voice to those in need. In her career as a licensed Esthetician, her goal is to educate and pamper women through facial rejuvenation and integrative skin therapies. She also enjoys hiking, and spending time with her persian cat, CatMann.
Violett Harris
AuburnViolett is a business owner and entrepreneur that believes the sky’s the limit for women with big dreams! She is an advocate for ‘Equality Now’ a non-profit that works to achieve legal equality for women and stop sex-trafficking all over the world. Violett uses her fitness blog to inspire women to be strong and confident. In her free time she loves exploring, and rockhounding, in the Pacific Northwest with her two huskies, Kona and Bean!
