Tanisha Williams

Williams created the hashtag in 2020 as an initiative to promote Black botanists and to share their work and life experiences on social media.

[2] Williams was born and raised in Washington, D.C. She credits childhood hiking and camping trips, as well as the influence of her great-grandmother, Grace Alice Hawkins, for her early interest in nature and plants.

[12] That year, Williams received the Peter Raven Award from the American Society of Plant Taxonomists for her efforts in scientific outreach.

[15] That year, Williams and botanist Chris Martine described Solanum scalarium, a new species of tomato plant from Australia.

[19] Williams and Martine were awarded a grant by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to study "plant species of concern".

[20] In 2023, Williams was awarded the Bicentenary Medal of the Linnean Society, which acknowledged her "excellent biological research and contribution to the wider natural history community".

"[2] Williams recruited a group of co-founders and co-organizers including Beronda Montgomery and Nokwanda Makunga and as part of the first week, commemorated the late Lynika Strozier.

[1] Williams has spoken up about how Black scientists are perceived while conducting fieldwork, and explained her own precautions before going to work: "I’ve been quizzed by random strangers," she said.