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Alexis Nikole Nelson
Born (1992-05-26) May 26, 1992 (age 33)
Alma mater Ohio State University
Known for Foraging, social media accounts
Awards James Beard Award (2022)

Alexis Nikole Nelson is an American expert in finding wild plants and mushrooms, also known as a forager. She is also a cook and a popular internet personality. She shares her amazing discoveries and cooking tips on social media. You can find her videos on TikTok as 'alexisnikole' and on Instagram as 'blackforager'. In 2022, she won a special award called the James Beard Award for her social media work.

Early Life and Education

Alexis Nikole Nelson grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her family has roots in Cape Verde. Her mom taught her about foraging when she was only five years old. She learned about plants like onion grass from her mother. Alexis went to Walnut Hills High School and graduated in 2010. She then studied at the Ohio State University. In 2015, she earned degrees in environmental science and theatre.

Her Career as a Forager

Nelson shares videos of her foraging finds on social media. Her videos are fun, playful, and show her deep knowledge of wild plants. She started her Instagram account "blackforager" in 2019. In 2020, she created her TikTok page "alexisnikole".

What She Teaches

Alexis talks about many interesting topics in her videos. She teaches about the history of foraging in America. She also explains how foraging laws have changed over time. A big part of her work is showing sustainable ways to use wild plants and mushrooms. She often focuses on vegan recipes. In most videos, she finds ingredients in nature. Then, she turns them into delicious dishes using her own recipes.

Growing Popularity

Alexis's popularity grew a lot in 2021. She went from under 500,000 TikTok followers to 3.3 million by January 2022. Her success allowed her to leave her office job in September 2021. She decided to focus on foraging full-time. National media noticed her work that year. She was featured in New York Times and Bon Appétit articles. She also appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show and The Drew Barrymore Show. In 2021, she was added to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list.

Awards and Appearances

In April 2022, Alexis attended the TED conference in Vancouver. She gave a TED Talk about her foraging work. She even cooked sweet-and-salty seaweed chips there. She used bull kelp that she foraged in Vancouver. In June 2022, she won the James Beard Award for social media. At that time, her accounts had over 4.8 million followers. In January 2023, Nelson appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Recent Projects

Alexis is currently writing a cookbook. It will be published by Simon & Schuster. In 2023, Nelson joined the YouTube channel Crash Course. She hosted a 15-episode series about botany, which is the study of plants. In December 2023, an episode of Eat This with Yara featuring Nelson won an Emmy Award. The episode was titled "The Awful Truth About ‘No Trespassing’ Signs". It won "Outstanding Lifestyle Program" at the 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.

Her Inspirations

Nelson says her interest in foraging comes from two main things. One is her natural curiosity. The other is her family's African and indigenous heritage.

Personal Life

Nelson lives in Columbus, Ohio. She lives with her partner and several pets. She follows a vegan diet, which means she does not eat animal products.

See also

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