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