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.

explore the Color of Water directory

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?

Update your color of water profile.

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?