About

💼 me :

President – Wilkerson Bakery
Part-Owner – Lot 63

Professional Awards & Recognition
🏆 Visionary Award – Health 2.0 Conference (2023)
🏆 Top 200 – RevolutionHer Awards (2022)
🏆 Outstanding Leadership Award – Health 2.0 Conference (2022)
🏆 Outstanding Leadership Award – Food 2.0 Conference (2022)
🏆 Family Business Award – Triad Business Journal (2022)
🏆 Best of Category – PICA Awards (2020)

Creative & Cultural Work
🎨 Australian Indigenous Art Specialist
🎬 Co-Creator / Co-Director – King & Queen of the Seas (Featured on Netflix’s MerPeople)
🧜‍♀️ Freediver & National Co-Director – Miss Mermaid USA
 • Miss Mermaid USA 2016 – Best in Water Nominee
 • Miss Mermaid USA & North America 2017 – Best Catwalk Nominee
💃 Model & Actress – Print, Commercial, Underwater, Runway (LA Fashion Week)
🎙️ Voice-Over Talent

Adventure & Athletics
🚣 Competitive Rower – Four-year collegiate rower & World Masters competitor
🚀 Jetpack Coach – Among the world’s first female water jetpack instructors. Featured on MTV’s Plain Jane with Jetpack America.
🏔️ Action Sports Enthusiast & World Traveler
 • Favorite day: BASE jumping and snowboarding the same day as a tribute to my Aunt & Godmother

Life & Legacy
💛 Auntie to four beautiful nephews
🌊 Lifelong lover of adventure & storytelling

Hi! I’m Chelsi—an adventurer at heart, always looking for new ways to blend creativity, heritage, and community.

My favorite adventure and greatest honor is carrying on my family’s legacy as President of Wilkerson Bakery. My great-grandfather opened our family’s first bakery in the face of the Great Depression, pioneering techniques and traditions that helped define our industry. Nearly a century later, during another time of global uncertainty, I helped lead my family into the future with the launch of our newest bakery. Check us out here.

I’m also proud to be a co-owner of Lot 63, located in the heart of historic Old Salem in Winston-Salem, NC — a destination that blends a bakery, coffeehouse, pub, and wine bar under one roof. It’s a space built for connection, creativity and honoring history, featuring an event venue that hosts private celebrations and community gatherings throughout the year. Check us out here.

Beyond the world of food and hospitality, I serve as National Co-Director (alongside Lauren Chu) of Miss Mermaid USA, part of Miss Mermaid International — the world’s first mermaid pageant. Together, we’re building toward a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to ocean activism and community service. I’m also the co-creator and director of King & Queen of the Seas, featured on Netflix’s MerPeople. Learn more here.

I earned my B.A. in Critical Media & Cultural Studies from Rollins College, with minors in Studio Art and Australian Studies.

In my past lives, I’ve worked “undercover” for one of the world’s largest online travel agencies, represented Australia’s leading contemporary Indigenous artists and their communities, and helped build creative brand campaigns for VF Jeanswear, ViiV Healthcare, Panera Bread, and Kmart/Sears. Those experiences — along with time spent in startups and small businesses — taught me to wear every hat on the rack (and occasionally, a jetpack or mermaid tail).

🎤 Let’s Collaborate

Looking for a speaker, media guest, or creative collaborator? I love sharing stories about entrepreneurship, family business, ocean advocacy, and the creative process — from preserving heritage to building bold new ventures.

Through Wilkerson Bakery and Lot 63, our team also partners with brands and organizations on corporate gifting, custom baked goods, and community events that bring people together through flavor and storytelling.

Whether you’re planning a feature, hosting an event, or exploring a unique collaboration — let’s connect.