Gabrielle's Journey to Miss for America 2023

Gabrielle “Gabby'' Richmond is a 27-year-old acclaimed athlete, successful entrepreneur, and staunch advocate for women’s health. She was born and raised in the frigid yet aptly named Windy City of Chicago, where she discovered her love for the game of basketball at the early age of 7. Gabrielle went on to play on the Division I level at Saint Bonaventure University in upstate New York from 2012 to 2017. One of her proudest moments was advancing to the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament.

 

After college, Gabby battled with whether to focus on utilizing her Marketing degree and MBA to find a career, starting a photography business, or pursuing a modeling career. In 2019, she decided she would follow a career opportunity with the Department of Defense in Maryland, and pursue modeling and photography part-time. Three years later, Gabrielle resigned after realizing where her true passion lay, in photography and modeling, which she began to pursue full-time. Gabby ultimately chose freedom, peace, and purpose over financial security and comfort.

 

The unapologetic self-starter is not only a professional Photographer now, but she owns a production company. Gabrielle feels deeply connected to the maternal world, so she photographs maternity portraits, births, babies, and even weddings. The company’s service offerings are not at all by accident. Due to being so engrossed in the birth world, Gabby discovered the flip\side of beautiful birth stories, which is infertility. Infertility is the inability to conceive after one year of unprotected sex and it sadly affects 1 in 8 couples. Gabrielle felt a strong urge to educate her community via social media on the importance of learning your fertility status before you are ready to conceive. She received countless direct messages from women sharing their infertility journeys. The instant yet the private vulnerability of these women confirmed for her that this issue needed to be addressed publicly.

 

Gabrielle was crowned the 2022 Miss Maryland for America Strong and is now vying for the Miss America title. Should she win Miss America, she will move on to compete in the Miss World pageant. With her title, she plans to start a non-profit organization to help provide resources for women battling infertility. Gabby’s goal is to raise funds to donate to women affected by costly medical bills, specifically undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). IVF is a complex and rather costly series of procedures used to assist with the conception of a child. Gabrielle also wants to use the money to find resources that will further educate women on what steps to take to find out their fertility statuses and prevent infertility.

 

For Gabrielle, winning Miss for America would mean receiving a larger platform to help women arguably do the single most magical and honorable act in the world, procreate. Being a photographer who literally captures a baby’s first breath or first few weeks into the world and witnessing the joy from mothers, it breaks Gabby’s heart to know every woman who desires to may not be able to experience childbirth. In certain cases, just having the financial means and access to the correct resources would make all the difference. With or without a title, crown, or sash, Gabby is committed to the lifelong journey of ensuring that women have the resources needed to bring new life into the world.

 

At this time, Gabrielle is in search of sponsors to help defray the costs of competing, such as the entry fee, cosmetics, wardrobe, coaching, video and photography, and other additional costs required in competing for the title of Miss America. All donations from a business can be tax write-offs for promotional expenses. She thanks the community in advance for their support!

 

THANK YOU!

 

Please contact Gabby for more info: (773) [phone redacted] / [email redacted]

Follow her journey on Instagram at: @missmarylandamerica2022