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

2.9 billion gallons of clean drinking water added to California’s supply with new investments | Governor of California
[from Governor of California]

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