Meet the 2024 Miss North Bay’s Teen: Katie Rose Winkelman

Katie Winkelman on stage at a pageantry event (Photo credits: Miss America Organization)

By: Natalia Woods, Arts & Entertainment Editor

Dazzling lights, a crowd of hundreds of people, and a panel of judges watching your every move.  To most, this is a foreign experience. But for Katie Winkelman, this is just a typical day of pageantry. 

For the year of 2024, Winkelman held the esteemed title of Miss North Bay’s Teen, serving as an inspiration for young women in her local community. She first decided to join pageantry in early 2024 after learning about it through her involvement in ballroom dancing. However, Winkelman was hesitant to join at first because of the stigma around pageants, with most people’s minds jumping to shows like Toddlers & Tiaras that falsely portray the toxic drama of the industry. “There’s a lot of bad representation of pageantry,” explains Winkelman. “But it was a lot different than I thought it would be.”

The Miss North Bay Teen contest is a division of the much larger Miss America organization, which is held each year at a national level. Each competition is judged based on the same five criteria: Evening Gown, Fitness, Talent, On-Stage Question, and Private Interview. Evening Gown, which is the traditional walkout in a gown, is typically what people think of when they hear the word “pageant.” Each contestant is judged based on their confidence and ability to carry themselves. There’s the Fitness category, where the contestants sport athletic wear and are judged based on their confidence and routine. The next category is Talent, one of Winkelman’s favorite aspects of the competition, where she showcases her singing skills. The arguably most stressful category is the On-Stage Question, where the contestant must answer a question about their platform, asked by the judges in front of a large audience. They must not only be well spoken, but also fully educated on their topic.

But the most heavily weighted and important aspect of the competition is the Private Interview; contestants stand at a podium in front of the panel of judges for ten minutes, answering questions about their extracurriculars, academics, and most importantly, their Community Service Initiative. The Miss America organization is focused on having well-rounded advocates for their titleholders, so the CSI is a way to show involvement and commitment to a specific cause in one’s community. For Winkelman, this was advocating for the arts in education. For the entirety of 2024, she prioritized this initiative, going to different schools to inspire participation in the arts programs and gather support for funding the arts in Sonoma County schools. She held assemblies, participated in parades, and attended other events, all to focus on elevating the importance of her CSI. Winkelman shared her love for this aspect of being Miss North Bay Teen, saying that “there’s a great balance between the traditional pageantry aspect and getting your hands dirty, working within your community.” All these aspects of the competition are something that Winkelman had to train for and practice for months before being presented her title. “It’s like an art,” she explains. “It’s not just walking and talking, you have to know how to interview concisely, build a community service platform, and so much more.”

Katie Winkelman and 2024 Miss Sonoma County yN’reh Gibson (Photo credits: Debra Winkelman)

Winkelman’s favorite part of her pageantry journey has been the sisterhood. “All the women that I’ve met have been so empowering and passionate about what they do,” she says. “I’ve made some of my best friends and found family through the organization.” Beyond just the North Bay, Winkelman had the opportunity to compete in the Miss California Teen competition in the summer of 2024 and shared how inspiring it was to be there, explaining that “It’s just great to be around that much ambition and passion.”

But beyond the sashes and crowns, Winkelman balances a myriad of activities and involvements. She has been a junior dance instructor at Nordquist Taylor Ballroom Dance for the past three years, teaching over 400 kids a year to ballroom dance and about proper etiquette, as well as important social skills. Winkelman herself is a West Coast Swing Dancer and is also learning Irish stepdance. At Maria Carrillo High School, she’s a four-year varsity women’s golf player and has participated in various choir classes throughout high school: jazz choir for three years, chamber choir, and one year of concert choir as a freshman. She has also been an active volunteer at the Children’s Museum of Sonoma County for the past three years. Winkelman hopes to pursue a career in law and shared that her involvement with Miss America has helped her with that goal, teaching her important skills like public speaking. 

Though recently, Winkelman passed over her crown to the 2025 titleholder for Miss North Bay Teen, Jennifer Pan, she still expresses her love and passion for her involvement. She encourages any girl to join the Miss America organization through our local competition, Miss Sonoma County, saying that “it’s a great way to grow as a person,” teaching important interview skills, meeting new people, and being involved in the community. Miss America is also the number one giver of scholarships to women in the United States, so getting involved can contribute to paying for further education. Winkelman is always happy to answer any questions, hoping to get as many people involved as possible because of the many opportunities and benefits that Miss America offers, as well as how rewarding the process truly is. 

“When I’m at an event and I’m wearing my sash and crown, little girls would come up to me and ask if I was a princess,” she says. “And of course the answer is, yes, I am a princess.” Winkelman remembers being a young girl and seeing titleholders at events, so now being in their position has been incredibly fulfilling. “I’m happy to be a role model for the younger generations of Sonoma County.”