Color Of Water
Elevating Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other voices of color to change the narrative around water.
Nureen Faiza Anisha
Oregon State University
Sidney Opiyo
University of California, Santa Cruz
Damian Shapes Padilla
Spirit Rock Consulting
Ed Marin
Louisville Water
Usman Mahmood
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Rhysea Agrawal
The Xylom
Patricia Lindsay-Harvey
Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority
Cathie Chavez-Morris
Equidad Group
Kedar Dabhadkar
Lam Research
Analise Rivero
California Trout
Newsha Ajami
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Pallavi Bharadwaj
SEG
Arohi Sharma
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Alondra Hernandez-Bose
WEAT
Afia Zakiya
Independent Africana Studies and EJ scholar-activist, currently Executive Director of Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation
Adriana Renteria
State Water Board
Marc Oliver Quijano
Jacobs
Ehab Meselhe
Tulane University
Cate Mingoya-LaFortune
Groundwork USA
Priscila B R Alves
University of Maryland
José M. Rodríguez-Flores
Environmental Defense Fund
Harshini Ratnayaka
Save the Dunes
Ean Tafoya
GreenLatinos
Naveen Adusumilli
Louisiana State University
Fernando Ramirez
Bridges 2023 International
Billie Li
Wright-Pierce
Beth Roach
Sierra Club
Jessica Dandridge-Smith
The Water Collaborative
Ruthie Redmond
UC Berkeley
Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Crystal Davis
National Parks Conservation Association
Ashwin Dhanasekar
Brown and Caldwell
Emma Robbins
Planet Woman
Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Cheyenne Holliday
Verde
Nadine Robertson
Veolia North America
Carlos Moran
Northeast Trees
Bridget Ray
Washington State Department of Commerce
Quentin Stubbs
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Sarah Traore
The University of Texas at Austin
Thea Louis
MSC Industrial Supply Co.
Oluwole (OJ) McFoy
Houston Public Works
Cindy Donis
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
Alastair Bitsóí
Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President
martin griffin
madison metropolitan sewerage district
Jazmin Ricks
University of Pennsylvania
Oday Salim
University of Michigan Law School
Temiloluwa Akinyemi
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Andrea León-Grossmann
Vote Solar
Nicole Chavas
Greenprint Partners
Rachele Lopez
Justice Outside
Daniel Cordalis
Native American Rights Fund
Alai Reyes-Santos
University of Oregon
Felice Green
Milwaukee Water Commons
Elizabeth Ruiz
CA State Water Resources Control Board
Sandi Matsumoto
The Nature Conservancy
Susana De Anda
Community Water Center
Ayako Tischler
Moonshot Missions
Olga Cano
HUD
Vinicius Taguchi
North Carolina State University
Kimbaya Carriere
Nuxalk First Nation
Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes
GreenLatinos
Ani Jayakaran
Washington State University
Chakena Sims
NRDC
Shandin Pete
University of British Columbia
Lucero Sanchez
San Diego Coastkeeper
Jessica Thrasher
Colorado State University
Walt Walker
TYLin
Jo Banner
The Descendants Project
Shama Perveen
CERES
Esteban Ortiz
The Gorge Association of Aspirations/La Asociacion de Aspiraciones del Gorge
Sri Vedachalam
Cisolutions
Charles Cassagnol
Western Ecology, LLC
Lenise Marrero
Brown and Caldwell
Tony Bridges
The Maryland General Assembly
Alexis Roig
United Nations University
Sonali Abraham
Pacific Institute
Keiko Wilkins
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Nikki Tulley
University of Arizona
Dira Johanif
Charles River Climate Compact
Tanner Yess
Groundwork USA
Alex Ortiz
Austin Water and Wastewater Commission
Brenda Coley
Milwaukee Water Commons
Joaquin Esquivel
California State Water Resources Control Board
André Sanchez
California Wilderness Coalition
Parsa Saffarinia
University of California, Davis
Briana Muñoz
Pacific Coast Carbon LLC
Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George
Ferris Institute
Rhea Drozdenko
Connecticut River Conservancy
Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz
Greenroots Institute
Julian Gonzalez
Earthjustice
Gabe Vasquez
US Congress
Marccus Hendricks
University of Maryland - College Park
Monica Driggers
Massachusetts Rivers Alliance
Aria Harris
TYLin
Nicole Nelson
Equity Legal Services, Inc
Angela M Chalk
Healthy Community Resources Services
Jahan Taganova
City and County of Denver
Crystal Sanders-Alvarado
Seaworthy
Carlos Calderon
West Michigan Environmental Action Council
Victor Galvan
Denver Mayor's Office for Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience
Ciara Horne
SBG Digital
Nathaniel I Kollie
University of California Santa Cruz
Ngodoo Atume
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
Gia Moreno
Hood Community Council
Rob Larson
Grand Valley State University
Diana Piña Yitbarek
NC Department of Environmental Quality
Breanna Gonzalez
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Roland Jones
CIS
Jaiden Willeto
Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop
Frank Ruiz
Audubon California
Daniela Sherrill
ASU / AZ Water for All
Nahal G. Ipakchi
BluePoint Planning
Carolan Sonderegger
For Love of Water
Cheyanne Harris
Brown and Caldwell
Maria Elena Kennedy
Kennedy Communications, Inc
Nasim Pica
WSP in the U.S.
Mahtaab Bagherzadeh
NWF/Clean Water for All
Sanjiv Sinha
Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.
Rene Henery
Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno
Arsum Pathak
National Wildlife Federation
Chauncey Foster
we.grow.eco
Maisah Khan
Regenerative Agriculture Foundation
Kabir Thatte
The Vessel Collective
Danielle Rivera
University of California Berkeley
Allen Townsend
World Wildlife Fund
Paula Buchanan
National Center for Domestic Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School
Silvia R. Gonzalez
UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute
John Echohawk
Native American Rights Fund
Nataly Escobedo Garcia
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Vicky Espinoza
CaliWaterAg
Xochitl Bervera
Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters
Jacob Bernal
American Rivers
Tanasia Swift
Billion Oyster Project
Joy Banner
The Descendants Project
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš
Azul
Emily Warren Armitano
Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Sydney Garcia
The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Jeremy Orr
Earthjustice
Benu Amun Ra
S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center
maritza mendoza
Empower DC
Veronica Garibay
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Vidya Balasubramanyam
Coastal States Organization
Charming Evelyn
OceanWell Water
Dezaraye Bagalayos
Allensworth Progressive Association
Olga Morales Pate
Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated
Bleu Adams
IndigeHub
Jasmine Walker
IMPACT Community Action
Khalid Osman
Stanford University
Tiffany Sevilla
Greenprint Partners
Angela Guyadeen
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Angela Mooney D’Arcy
Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples
Sapna Mulki
Environmental Policy Innovation Center
Michael Méndez
UC Irvine
Andrian Lee
BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC
Pedro Hernandez
GreenLatinos
Pablo Ortiz
Union of Concerned Scientists
Chriscilia Cox
SUMA Consulting LLC
Alyssa Senturk
California Water Data Consortium
Cyatharine Alias
Center for Neighborhood Technology
Huda Alkaff
Wisconsin Green Muslims
Cate Caldwell
Illinois Environmental Council
Pita Juarez
Comms Consultant
Heather Tanana
University of California, Irvine
Bre’Shaun Reddick
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Val Schull
GreenLatinos
Julia Fay Bernal
Pueblo Action Alliance
Mallika Nocco
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Nusrat Molla
Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University
Talia London
The Common Acre
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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?
VOICES: Why Michigan’s data center fight is really about who gets to decide – Planet Detroit
Data centers are being developed in Michigan, but local concerns about environmental impacts and community effects are being overlooked. [from Planet Detroit]

Will adding more lanes fix I-270 congestion? CDOT’s favored fix will test its new mission, opponents say. – The Colorado Sun
CDOT wants to widen I-270 to speed traffic and heighten safety, but clean transportation advocates say the old solutions are no longer relevant. [from The

Tribes are stuck as Colorado River negotiation deadline nears with no deal – KJZZ
Beyond the bickering Upper and Lower Basin states, there are 30 federally recognized tribes stuck in the middle of a decades-old debate on how best