Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Anthony Edwards Jr., CEO and Co-Founder, EatOkra Entrepreneur:
Anthony Edwards Jr.’s penchant for leadership blossomed at an early age when he joined the U.S. Army as an avionics systems repairer after high school, rising through the ranks to lead a team of 25 soldiers. After
receiving an honorable discharge, Edwards pursued a degree in computer science at Fordham University, where he honed his coding skills to later become a fullstack developer. Coding expertise proved useful when he later co-founded EatOkra alongside his wife, Janique Edwards—the award-
winning, tech-backed platform connecting over 600,000 food lovers directly to Black-owned restaurants, caterers, and food trucks. Since launching in 2016, EatOkra has evolved into a multifaceted community platform powered by a small but mighty team that champions the Black culinary ecosystem through programming, funding, business resources, and powerful storytelling.
The Impact Awards is a new program in 2025, born out of the James Beard Foundation’s impact work and advocacy policy priorities. Built on the previous Leadership Awards that were retired in 2024, the Impact Awards are administered by the Impact Committee of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees and reflect the year’s programmatic priorities. It is one of the Foundation’s three Achievement Awards programs, alongside the Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian of the Year Awards.
Learn more at jamesbeard.org/awards
Anthony Edwards Jr., CEO and Co-Founder, EatOkra Entrepreneur:
Anthony Edwards Jr.’s penchant for leadership blossomed at an early age when he joined the U.S. Army as an avionics systems repairer after high school, rising through the ranks to lead a team of 25 soldiers. After
receiving an honorable discharge, Edwards pursued a degree in computer science at Fordham University, where he honed his coding skills to later become a fullstack developer. Coding expertise proved useful when he later co-founded EatOkra alongside his wife, Janique Edwards—the award-
winning, tech-backed platform connecting over 600,000 food lovers directly to Black-owned restaurants, caterers, and food trucks. Since launching in 2016, EatOkra has evolved into a multifaceted community platform powered by a small but mighty team that champions the Black culinary ecosystem through programming, funding, business resources, and powerful storytelling.
The Impact Awards is a new program in 2025, born out of the James Beard Foundation’s impact work and advocacy policy priorities. Built on the previous Leadership Awards that were retired in 2024, the Impact Awards are administered by the Impact Committee of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees and reflect the year’s programmatic priorities. It is one of the Foundation’s three Achievement Awards programs, alongside the Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian of the Year Awards.
Learn more at jamesbeard.org/awards
