In January 2018, Gretchen Carlson, who won the Miss America in 1989, was elected as the new chairwoman of the organization, becoming the first former Miss America to serve as its leader. Katherine Shindle, Miss America 1998, was also appointed to the board alongside fellow Miss America winners, Heather French Henry (2000) and Laura Kaeppeler (2012). This move led to a number of changes. In June 2018, there was an announcement that Miss America contestants would no longer be judged based on their physical appearance. Thus, the national Miss America event would be considered a competition, rather than a beauty pageant, and the titleholders would now be candidates, rather than contestants. The swimsuit competition was replaced with state titleholders participating in a live interactive session with the judges. The evening gown competition was dropped; the contestants chose clothing "that makes them feel confident, expresses their personal style, and shows how they hope to advance the role of Miss America." In interviews, Carlson emphasized the organization's desire to be more welcoming, "open, transparent, inclusive to women," and to prioritize displaying the talent and scholarship in the contestants. The talent portion was worth 50% of the contestants' preliminary score. Additionally, the new board of directors increased the maximum age of titleholders to 25 years old, from 24. Therefore, contestants cannot be older than 25 years old on December 31 in the calendar year of their state competition.