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