Color Of Water
Elevating Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other voices of color to change the narrative around water.
maritza mendoza
Empower DC
Ean Tafoya
GreenLatinos
Tanner Yess
Groundwork USA
Bre’Shaun Reddick
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Angela M Chalk
Healthy Community Resources Services
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš
Azul
Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George
Ferris Institute
Pita Juarez
Comms Consultant
Vinicius Taguchi
North Carolina State University
Huda Alkaff
Wisconsin Green Muslims
Sarah Traore
The University of Texas at Austin
Sri Vedachalam
Cisolutions
Ehab Meselhe
Tulane University
Gia Moreno
Hood Community Council
Cheyenne Holliday
Verde
Pedro Hernandez
GreenLatinos
Jasmine Walker
IMPACT Community Action
Tanasia Swift
Billion Oyster Project
Frank Ruiz
The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz
Val Schull
GreenLatinos
Cate Caldwell
Illinois Environmental Council
Charming Evelyn
OceanWell Water
Silvia R. Gonzalez
UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute
Rhysea Agrawal
The Xylom
Nicole Chavas
Greenprint Partners
Sidney Opiyo
University of California, Santa Cruz
Naveen Adusumilli
Louisiana State University
Danielle Rivera
University of California Berkeley
Victor Galvan
Denver Mayor's Office for Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience
Ruthie Redmond
UC Berkeley
Cheyanne Harris
Brown and Caldwell
Analise Rivero
California Trout
Emily Warren Armitano
Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Chriscilia Cox
SUMA Consulting LLC
Thea Louis
MSC Industrial Supply Co.
Cate Mingoya-LaFortune
Groundwork USA
Nicole Nelson
Equity Legal Services, Inc
Mallika Nocco
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Sonali Abraham
Pacific Institute
Ed Marin
Louisville Water
Chauncey Foster
we.grow.eco
Michael Méndez
UC Irvine
Ciara Horne
SBG Digital
Martin Griffin
Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
Daniela Sherrill
ASU / AZ Water for All
Benu Amun Ra
S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center
Jacob Bernal
American Rivers
Carolan Sonderegger
For Love of Water
Carlos Moran
Northeast Trees
Jazmin Ricks
University of Pennsylvania
Rene Henery
Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno
Jessica Thrasher
Colorado State University
Cyatharine Alias
Center for Neighborhood Technology
Rhea Drozdenko
Connecticut River Conservancy
Sapna Mulki
Environmental Policy Innovation Center
Nadine Robertson
Veolia North America
Esteban Ortiz
The Gorge Association of Aspirations/La Asociacion de Aspiraciones del Gorge
Cathie Chavez-Morris
Equidad Group
Sanjiv Sinha
Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.
Xochitl Bervera
Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters
Walt Walker
TYLin
maritza mendoza
Empower DC
Veronica Garibay
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Alyssa Senturk
California Water Data Consortium
Bleu Adams
IndigeHub
Julian Gonzalez
Earthjustice
Emma Robbins
The Chapter House
Billie Li
Wright-Pierce
Sandi Matsumoto
The Nature Conservancy
Vicky Espinoza
CaliWaterAg
Ashwin Dhanasekar
Brown and Caldwell
Usman Mahmood
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Tony Bridges
The Maryland General Assembly
Carlos Calderon
West Michigan Environmental Action Council
Pablo Ortiz
Union of Concerned Scientists
Jessica Dandridge-Smith
The Water Collaborative
Mahtaab Bagherzadeh
NWF/Clean Water for All
Talia London
The Common Acre
Patricia Lindsay-Harvey
Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority
Joy Banner
The Descendants Project
Crystal Davis
National Parks Conservation Association
Maria Elena Kennedy
Kennedy Communications, Inc
Jo Banner
The Descendants Project
John Echohawk
Native American Rights Fund
Charles Cassagnol
Western Ecology, LLC
Sydney Garcia
The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Angela Mooney D’Arcy
Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples
Diana Piña Yitbarek
NC Department of Environmental Quality
José M. Rodríguez-Flores
California State University, Monterey Bay
Marccus Hendricks
University of Maryland - College Park
Monica Driggers
Massachusetts Rivers Alliance
Khalid Osman
Stanford University
Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz
Greenroots Institute
Ani Jayakaran
Washington State University
Oluwole (OJ) McFoy
Houston Public Works
Alondra Hernandez-Bose
WEAT
Nasim Pica
WSP in the U.S.
Fernando Ramirez
Bridges 2023 International
Lenise Marrero
Brown and Caldwell
Priscila Alves
University of Maryland
Paula Buchanan
National Center for Domestic Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School
Julia Fay Bernal
Pueblo Action Alliance
Breanna Gonzalez
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Briana Muñoz
Pacific Coast Carbon LLC
Felice Green
Milwaukee Water Commons
Brenda Coley
Milwaukee Water Commons
Angela Guyadeen
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Nahal G. Ipakchi
BluePoint Planning
Elizabeth Ruiz
CA State Water Resources Control Board
Dezaraye Bagalayos
Allensworth Progressive Association
Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes
GreenLatinos
Nureen Faiza Anisha
Oregon State University
Shandin Pete
University of British Columbia
André Sanchez
California Wilderness Coalition
Arsum Pathak
National Wildlife Federation
Adriana Renteria
State Water Board
Arohi Sharma
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Tiffany Sevilla
Greenprint Partners
Nikki Tulley
University of Arizona
Joaquin Esquivel
California State Water Resources Control Board
Keiko Wilkins
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Alai Reyes-Santos
University of Oregon
Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Aria Harris
TYLin
Damian Shapes Padilla
Spirit Rock Consulting
Parsa Saffarinia
University of California, Davis
Alex Ortiz
Austin Water and Wastewater Commission
Marc Oliver Quijano
Jacobs
Oday Salim
University of Michigan Law School
Crystal Sanders-Alvarado
Seaworthy
Quentin Stubbs
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Alastair Bitsóí
Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President
Newsha Ajami
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Nataly Escobedo Garcia
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Kabir Thatte
The Vessel Collective
Allen Townsend
World Wildlife Fund
Jahan Taganova
City and County of Denver
Andrian Lee
BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC
Jeremy Orr
Earthjustice
Daniel Cordalis
Native American Rights Fund
Temiloluwa Akinyemi
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Harshini Ratnayaka
Save the Dunes
Dira Johanif
Charles River Climate Compact
Rachele Lopez
Justice Outside
Nathaniel I Kollie
University of California Santa Cruz
Beth Roach
Sierra Club
Ayako Tischler
Moonshot Missions
Susana De Anda
Community Water Center
Cindy Donis
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
Kimbaya Carriere
Nuxalk First Nation
Nusrat Molla
Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University
Pallavi Bharadwaj
SEG
Andrea León-Grossmann
Vote Solar
Roland Jones
CIS
Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Jaiden Willeto
Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop
Lucero Sanchez
San Diego Coastkeeper
Chakena Sims
NRDC
Gabe Vasquez
US Congress
Heather Tanana
University of California, Irvine
Kedar Dabhadkar
Lam Research
Rob Larson
Grand Valley State University
Shama Perveen
CERES
Olga Cano
HUD
Olga Morales Pate
Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated
Ngodoo Atume
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
Maisah Khan
Regenerative Agriculture Foundation
Afia Zakiya
Independent Africana Studies and EJ scholar-activist, currently Executive Director of Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation
Bridget Ray
Washington State Department of Commerce
trending topics
These are the top topics that reporters, decision makers, and partners are looking for experts to speak about.
Video Library
Watch water experts share their stories and perspectives with reporters, event audiences, podcast hosts, and more.
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!
Are you a current member?
Can’t access your email? Get in touch with us!
Are you a journalist?
Download the directory and opt-in to get pitches featuring Color of Water stories.
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