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

How more than 240 million gallons of sewage flowed into the Potomac River – NPR
NPR's Erika Ryan reports from the site of one of the nation's largest sewage spills ever — just outside of Washington, D.C. — in January.

Nearly half of L.A. County’s pavement may be unnecessary, new map finds – Los Angeles Times
Researchers have released the first parcel-level analysis to map all paved surfaces across L.A. County. In particular, large parking lots are ripe for change, they