At 29-years-old, 'Project Runway' judge Elaine Welteroth became the youngest editor-in-chief in Conde Nast history. Here are the 5 ways she rose to the top.

Once Welteroth left Ebony, she knew the jump from a traditional black magazine to other publications was going to be hard.

She wrote that on her journey to find a new job, hiring managers would often tell her that she was "overqualified" for the position.

"My fears of being pigeonholed in Black media were being legitimized with every closed door," she wrote. "But I kept knocking anyway, pulling all-nighters on edit tests and hustling even harder at work to beef up my clip book — producing up to twenty-five pages an issue."

Eventually, with intense networking and a clip book, she was offered a position at Glamour magazine as a beauty writer and editor. This position allowed her to enter the Condé Nast realm. Condé Nast is one of the most prestigious mass media companies in the world, and own publications such as Glamour, Teen Vogue, and Vogue.

At one of her first major photoshoots for Teen Vogue, Welteroth quickly learned that in the age of the internet, images often speak louder than words.

She published a magazine spread about black natural hair meant to reflect the diversity of black hair, only to accidentally exclude dark-skinned black girls. The spread caused controversy and revived debates about colorism in the magazine industry. But rather than hide from the controversy, Welteroth took it head on.

She posted an op-ed on Teen Vogue's website stating:

"I will be the first to say that the industry still has a long way to go in addressing the deep need for more affirming messages .... As one of the few Black beauty editors, it is a responsibility that I do not take lightly," she said.

Later in her book she also wrote, "As writers, as magazine editors, as people with public platforms, we are the cultural agenda setters. We signal with our editorial decisions what the priorities are."

When she was promoted to editor-in-chief, Welteroth was initially told she would have to split her responsibilities and salary with two other people. She wrote this was something she would "fall on her sword" for, so she requested to at least be paid with "dignity."

"Women are taught to work hard and to play by the rules. We are taught to never overstep, to stay in our lane, to keep our head down, to go with the flow, to never be too loud or disagreeable. Not to be bossy. Not to be pushy. We are not encouraged to know our worth, let alone demand it," she wrote. "Women aren't taught to get comfortable with making people uncomfortable."

After less than two years, Welteroth became known as the driving force behind Teen Vogue's transition into a political and inclusive publication. Her fearlessness was driven by her mantra to just "do it anyway" and, as result, she ended up making big changes in the publishing industry.

"In order to change the stories," she wrote in her book. "You must first change the storytellers."

Welteroth said she always believed that her purpose was greater than her fear, so when it was time for her to finally leave Teen Vogue and venture into the unknown, she said was ready for what was to come next.

In the end, she didn't stand down; she stood up, and walked.

"My mission at Teen Vogue was to make young people whose voices had been marginalized feel seen, centered, and celebrated," she wrote in her book. "I did what I came to do. I had done enough. I was enough. And I was ready for more."

The new season of Bravo's "Project Runway" airs on December 5th at 9:30pm. Welteroth 's memoir "More than Enough" is available for purchase on Amazon.