The Departure of Elaine Welteroth from Teen Vogue

Rumors started surfacing on Thursday, January 11th about the editor-in-chief of Teen Vogue, Elaine Welteroth, apparently stepping down from her position. Welteroth became the official editor-in-chief in April of 2017 after sharing leadership roles with Phillip Picardi and Marie Suter for nearly a year. Welteroth, 31, became the youngest person, and only the second person of color, to have the title of editor-in-chief at Conde Nast.

I can honestly say that I am totally bummed about Welteroth’s departure. She not only transformed the magazine into a destination for readers to explore young, cool fashion, but she gave teens a voice and a creative outlet, making Teen Vogue a politically engaged publication with a sense of buzz-worthiness.

During her six years at Teen Vogue, following several years as the beauty and style editor at Ebony and Glamour, Welteroth used her position to help create the Teen Vogue Summit. This was created in order to empower and equip readers with “inspiration, insight, tools, and connections to help you pursue your passions and achieve your goals." The Teen Vogue summit brought younger generations from all over the world together to listen to some of the incredible leading voices of today, such as Sophia Amoruso, Hillary Clinton, Yara Shahidi, Rupi Kaur and Maxine Waters.

Welteroth announced on Sunday, January 14th that the rumors were true when she posted a long and inspiring statement on Instagram. She talked about moving to New York City at 21 years old as an editorial intern with the dream of one day becoming an editor-in-chief. Welteroth says that her goal seemed way too intimidating until she eventually started to believe in her vision. After six years of working at Conde Nast, she has decided to leave the company, stating that one’s “greatest obligation is to keep reaching, to continue growing, to push beyond what seems possible, to live outside the boxes created for us."

Welteroth will truly be missed, but we can’t wait to see what is next for her.