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