Who will walk the runway during New York Fashion Week and win $20,000? You decide.
Ella Dawley
Must be in the top 20 in their group to advance to the next round.
Voting for this round ends on July 30, 2026 at 9:00 PM EDT
About Ella Dawley
Author, strategist, and neurodivergent advocate passionate about helping people see themselves and the world more clearly. I love meaningful conversations, community, creativity, and encouraging others to embrace their authentic selves.
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Learn More About Ella Dawley
What makes you the Next Runway Star?
Confidence didn’t come from fitting into someone else’s definition of success—it came from learning to embrace who I already was. As an autistic woman, author, advocate, and project manager, I’ve spent years navigating systems that weren’t always designed for people like me. That journey inspired me to write Guerrilla Mode: A Workbook for Strategic Liberation & Empowered Action, a workbook that helps others transform survival into strategy. To me, being a Next Runway Star isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing that authenticity, resilience, compassion, and curiosity are beautiful. I hope to encourage people—especially those who’ve ever felt like they didn’t quite fit—to take up space, trust themselves, and recognize that what makes them different can also become one of their greatest strengths.
What would this once in a lifetime experience mean to you and why?
This experience would mean getting to represent something I wish I had seen growing up. For a long time, I thought confidence came from fitting in or finally becoming “enough.” Instead, I’ve learned that confidence grows when you stop apologizing for who you already are. As an autistic woman, author, advocate, and project manager, I’ve spent years learning how to navigate life when it doesn’t go according to plan. Today, one of the greatest joys of my work is giving other people tools I wish I’d had sooner. If even one person watching sees themselves reflected and walks away believing they’re capable of more than they thought yesterday, this experience would mean far more to me than simply walking a runway.
What are you most proud of about yourself or what have you overcome and why?
I’m most proud that I never stopped becoming myself. I’ve navigated autism, bipolar, ADHD, burnout, discrimination, and major career challenges. For a long time, I thought the goal was simply surviving. Somewhere along the way, survival slowly became strategy, and strategy became healing. One of the greatest surprises of my life has been realizing I’m still discovering what I’m capable of. That realization changed everything. Now I hope I can give other people tools to surprise themselves, too. I never had many role models who mirrored my reality growing up. Today, I hope I can be one small example that authenticity, curiosity, compassion, and resilience can become incredible strengths.
What would you do with the $20,000 cash prize?
I would invest it into building work that helps people navigate life when it doesn’t go according to plan. Right now, that work includes my book, Guerrilla Mode, but I see it growing into workshops, speaking, educational resources, and whatever other opportunities allow me to help people discover they’re capable of more than they imagined. The prize would also give me something every creator hopes for: time. Time to build thoughtfully, continue learning, and create resources that are genuinely useful. My goal has never been to have all the answers. It’s to build practical tools that help people trust themselves, navigate uncertainty, and grow into lives that feel authentically their own.
Content from Ella Dawley
Seeing Ourselves Clearly: Autism, Friendship and Empowered Advocacy
Public webinar where I share how accessibility, project management, and lived experience can become practical tools for helping people navigate life when it doesn’t go according to plan.
Vote for Ella Dawley
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