Color Of Water
Elevating Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other voices of color to change the narrative around water.
Kabir Thatte
The Vessel Collective
Nahal G. Ipakchi
BluePoint Planning
André Sanchez
California Wilderness Coalition
José M. Rodríguez-Flores
California State University, Monterey Bay
Jessica Dandridge-Smith
The Water Collaborative
Susana De Anda
Community Water Center
Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes
GreenLatinos
Jaiden Willeto
Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop
Rachele Lopez
Justice Outside
Jacob Bernal
American Rivers
Diana Piña Yitbarek
NC Department of Environmental Quality
Chauncey Foster
we.grow.eco
Cheyanne Harris
Brown and Caldwell
Rhysea Agrawal
The Xylom
Dezaraye Bagalayos
Allensworth Progressive Association
Julia Fay Bernal
Pueblo Action Alliance
Briana Muñoz
Pacific Coast Carbon LLC
Martin Griffin
Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
Keiko Wilkins
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Daniela Sherrill
ASU / AZ Water for All
Carlos Moran
Northeast Trees
Benu Amun Ra
S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center
Lenise Marrero
Brown and Caldwell
Ed Marin
Louisville Water
Bridget Ray
Washington State Department of Commerce
Shandin Pete
University of British Columbia
Tanner Yess
Groundwork USA
Olga Cano
HUD
Sonali Abraham
Pacific Institute
Esteban Ortiz
The Gorge Association of Aspirations/La Asociacion de Aspiraciones del Gorge
Alondra Hernandez-Bose
WEAT
Nikki Tulley
University of Arizona
Rob Larson
Grand Valley State University
Veronica Garibay
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Jo Banner
The Descendants Project
Moisés Moreno-Rivera
Trust for Public Land
Direlle Calica
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)
Danielle Rivera
University of California Berkeley
Harshini Ratnayaka
Save the Dunes
Julian Gonzalez
Earthjustice
Andrian Lee
BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC
Alex Ortiz
Austin Water and Wastewater Commission
Afia Zakiya
Independent Africana Studies and EJ scholar-activist, currently Executive Director of Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation
Nicole Chavas
Greenprint Partners
Cate Mingoya-LaFortune
Groundwork USA
Alyssa Senturk
California Water Data Consortium
Brenda Coley
Milwaukee Water Commons
Guadalupe F
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Roland Jones
CIS
Charming Evelyn
OceanWell Water
Ngodoo Atume
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
Breanna Gonzalez
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Xochitl Bervera
Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters
Andrea León-Grossmann
Vote Solar
Quentin Stubbs
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Nieves Vazquez
Water For People
Rhea Drozdenko
Connecticut River Conservancy
Talia London
The Common Acre
Maria Elena Kennedy
Kennedy Communications, Inc
Pablo Ortiz
Union of Concerned Scientists
Val Schull
GreenLatinos
Alastair Bitsóí
Near the Water Media & Communications Group
Sidney Opiyo
University of California, Santa Cruz
Ehab Meselhe
Tulane University
Billie Li
Wright-Pierce
Crystal Davis
National Parks Conservation Association
Marccus Hendricks
University of Maryland - College Park
Rene Henery
Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno
Alai Reyes-Santos
Alaí Community Consulting
Walt Walker
TYLin
Usman Mahmood
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Mahtaab Bagherzadeh
NWF/Clean Water for All
Temiloluwa Akinyemi
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Sanjiv Sinha
Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.
Maritza Mendoza
Empower DC
Emily Warren Armitano
Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Olga Morales
Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated
Victor Galvan
Denver Mayor's Office for Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience
Nathaniel I Kollie
University of California Santa Cruz
Berhanu Sinshaw
University of California Merced
Paula Buchanan
National Center for Domestic Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School
Ruthie Redmond
UC Berkeley
Monica Driggers
Massachusetts Rivers Alliance
Kimbaya Carriere
Nuxalk First Nation
Kedar Dabhadkar
Lam Research
Jahan Taganova
City and County of Denver
Tiffany Sevilla
Greenprint Partners
Sandi Matsumoto
The Nature Conservancy
Angela M Chalk
Healthy Community Resources Services
Cyatharine Alias
Center for Neighborhood Technology
Maisah Khan
Regenerative Agriculture Foundation
Chakena Sims
NRDC
Nataly Escobedo Garcia
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Newsha Ajami
Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Emma Robbins
The Chapter House
Pita Juarez
Comms Consultant
Shama Perveen
Ceres
Portia Shepherd
Blackbelt Women Rising
Joaquin Esquivel
California State Water Resources Control Board
Carolan Sonderegger
For Love of Water
Pedro Hernandez
GreenLatinos
Michael Méndez
UC Irvine
Angela Guyadeen
NRDC
Adriana Renteria
State Water Board
Damian Shapes Padilla
Spirit Rock Consulting
Jasmine Walker
Ohio Environmental Council
Daniel Cordalis
Native American Rights Fund
Hayat Rasul
LA County
Charles Cassagnol
Western Ecology, LLC
Ean Tafoya
GreenLatinos
Heather Tanana
University of Denver Sturm College of Law
Jazmin Ricks
University of Pennsylvania
John Echohawk
Native American Rights Fund
Ciara Horne
SBG Digital
Ayako Tischler
Xylem
Chakena Sims
NRDC
Khalid Osman
Stanford University
Sydney Garcia
The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Elizabeth Ruiz
CA State Water Resources Control Board
Felice Green
Milwaukee Water Commons
Lucero Sanchez
San Diego Coastkeeper
Bleu Adams
IndigeHub
Arsum Pathak
National Wildlife Federation
Silvia R. Gonzalez
UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš
Azul
Cindy Donis
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
Oday Salim
University of Michigan Law School
Crystal Sanders-Alvarado
Seaworthy
Carlos Calderon
West Michigan Environmental Action Council
Nicole Nelson
Equity Legal Services, Inc
Huda Alkaff
Wisconsin Green Muslims
Analise Rivero
California Trout
Sapna Mulki
Environmental Policy Innovation Center
Sri Vedachalam
Cisolutions
Nusrat Molla
Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University
Joy Banner
The Descendants Project
Nadine Robertson
Veolia North America
Beth Roach
Sierra Club
Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz
Greenroots Institute
Ashwin Dhanasekar
Brown and Caldwell
Arohi Sharma
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Bre’Shaun Reddick
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Tony Bridges
The Maryland General Assembly
Jeremy Orr
Earthjustice
Parsa Saffarinia
University of California, Davis
Nureen Faiza Anisha
Oregon State University
Fernando Ramirez
Bridges 2023 International
Sarah Traore
The University of Texas at Austin
Cathie Chavez-Morris
Equidad Group
Aria Harris
TYLin
Cate Caldwell
Illinois Environmental Council
Patricia Lindsay-Harvey
Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority
Ani Jayakaran
Washington State University
Jahan Taganova
City and County of Denver
Priscila Alves
University of Maryland
Cheyenne Holliday
Verde
Oluwole (OJ) McFoy
Houston Public Works
Frank Ruiz
The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz
Chriscilia Cox
SUMA Consulting LLC
Mallika Nocco
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Angela Mooney D’Arcy
Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples
Dira Johanif
Charles River Climate Compact
Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George
Ferris Institute
Jessica Thrasher
Colorado State University
Vinicius Taguchi
North Carolina State University
Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Nasim Pica
WSP in the U.S.
Pallavi Bharadwaj
SEG
Vicky Espinoza
CaliWaterAg
Gia Moreno
Hood Community Council
Allen Townsend
World Wildlife Fund
Thea Louis
MSC Industrial Supply Co.
Marc Oliver Quijano
Jacobs
Tanasia Swift
Billion Oyster Project
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About Us
The Color of Water Initiative was created by the Water Hub to build voice and visibility for people of color in the water movement. Our goal is to connect reporters with a more diverse set of experts, and build capacity for these experts to elevate the stories of their communities, which have often been left out of conversations around water.
From water access and drought response in the West to lead pipes and PFAS pollution in the Great Lakes to recurring flooding and water infrastructure failures in the South, Color of Water members have deep expertise and first-hand experience on water challenges and solutions all across the country.
Read the joint statement by Color of Water members on the importance of equity in the water world.
experts across the country
Register to Join our Expert Directory
If you identify as a person of color with expertise in water (including lived experience or ancestral knowledge) or work in fields that intersect with water (like health, farming, housing, planning, etc.) please submit your information to us!
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What are Color of Water members talking about?

How a Michigan Supreme Court decision on a Line 5 permit might ripple beyond the pipeline – Interlochen Public Radio
Justices vacated a permit for the pipeline, while also issuing a consequential ruling for state environmental reviews on several fronts — including the state’s public

New Park Bench Monitors Offer a Pathway to Air Pollution Solutions – The Washington Informer
The District added four Village Green monitors in May to increase air quality data accessibility for residents in underserved wards. [from The Washington Informer]

New Colorado River plan causes concern and uncertainty for some tribal nations in Arizona – KNAU Arizona Public Radio
The federal framework could result in steep cuts to Arizona’s share of river water. Some Native American communities could be impacted. [from KNAU Arizona Public