Alexis Nikole Nelson is a forager and an outdoor educator using her platform to yell, sing and celebrate all the edible plants hiding in plain sight! She invites all who will come on the foraging journey of collecting, identifying, and eating wild food.

Nelson has also cooked up quite a few awards, receiving the James Beard Award for “Best Social Media” 2022, being chosen for the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, being chosen as a TikTok Tastemaker, and being honored as part of Fortune Magazine’s Creator 25 in 2021. She has also been listed in the TIME100 Creators in 2025 and National Geographic 33 Honoree in 2025.

With millions of followers joining Alexis on the adventure, she reframes the world of food, asking us to consider tastefully satiating and environmentally sustainable food choices. She also peels back historical layers on African American and Indigenous food traditions that have traditionally been repressed. Whether Nelson is teaching audiences which seaweeds are delish or turning acorns into cheese, she does so with a song and a smile. Nelson’s comedic lessons and videos direct audiences to freely accessible food options and demonstrations of tasty dishes.

Nelson is the author of the forthcoming cookbook Happy Snacking, Don't Die! set to be published by Simon & Schuster. In 2023 Nelson hosted a 15-episode educational series with PBS where she used her signature humor to teach botany and science to children. She also delivered a TED Talk titled A Flavorful Field Guide to Foraging where she brings light to the importance of expanding your palate to include ‘wild’ foods.

While delivered in a light-hearted manner, Nelson’s content has empowered those living in food deserts with greater self-sufficiency – which is no laughing matter.

Nelson takes audiences into the woods and to the oceans in search of edible plants to enrich their palates and the planet.

As Alexis would say, happy snacking, don’t die!