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