Color Of Water
Elevating Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other voices of color to change the narrative around water.
Maisah Khan
Regenerative Agriculture Foundation
Marc Oliver Quijano
Jacobs
Felice Green
Milwaukee Water Commons
Afia Zakiya
Independent Africana Studies and EJ scholar-activist, currently Executive Director of Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation
Pallavi Bharadwaj
SEG
Jahan Taganova
City and County of Denver
Val Schull
GreenLatinos
Breanna Gonzalez
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Chakena Sims
NRDC
Sydney Garcia
The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Mallika Nocco
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Vinicius Taguchi
North Carolina State University
Sapna Mulki
Environmental Policy Innovation Center
Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes
GreenLatinos
Allen Townsend
World Wildlife Fund
Pablo Ortiz
Union of Concerned Scientists
Cate Caldwell
Illinois Environmental Council
Aria Harris
TYLin
Carolan Sonderegger
For Love of Water
Rhea Drozdenko
Connecticut River Conservancy
Arohi Sharma
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Alex Ortiz
Austin Water and Wastewater Commission
Kedar Dabhadkar
Lam Research
Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George
Ferris Institute
Ed Marin
Louisville Water
Harshini Ratnayaka
Save the Dunes
Rachele Lopez
Justice Outside
Ashwin Dhanasekar
Brown and Caldwell
Carlos Calderon
West Michigan Environmental Action Council
Charming Evelyn
OceanWell Water
Nicole Nelson
Equity Legal Services, Inc
Maria Elena Kennedy
Kennedy Communications, Inc
Andrian Lee
BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC
Nureen Faiza Anisha
Oregon State University
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš
Azul
Olga Cano
HUD
Jazmin Ricks
University of Pennsylvania
Jaiden Willeto
Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop
Cheyenne Holliday
Verde
Tiffany Sevilla
Greenprint Partners
Alastair Bitsóí
Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President
Kimbaya Carriere
Nuxalk First Nation
Chauncey Foster
we.grow.eco
Danielle Rivera
University of California Berkeley
Benu Amun Ra
S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center
Shama Perveen
CERES
Nikki Tulley
University of Arizona
Sri Vedachalam
Cisolutions
Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Lucero Sanchez
San Diego Coastkeeper
Sandi Matsumoto
The Nature Conservancy
John Echohawk
Native American Rights Fund
Marccus Hendricks
University of Maryland - College Park
Nahal G. Ipakchi
BluePoint Planning
Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz
Greenroots Institute
Brenda Coley
Milwaukee Water Commons
Julia Fay Bernal
Pueblo Action Alliance
Michael Méndez
UC Irvine
Priscila Alves
University of Maryland
Paula Buchanan
National Center for Domestic Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School
Tony Bridges
The Maryland General Assembly
Alondra Hernandez-Bose
WEAT
Ciara Horne
SBG Digital
Arsum Pathak
National Wildlife Federation
Susana De Anda
Community Water Center
Tanasia Swift
Billion Oyster Project
Talia London
The Common Acre
Nadine Robertson
Veolia North America
Jeremy Orr
Earthjustice
Charles Cassagnol
Western Ecology, LLC
Olga Morales Pate
Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated
Walt Walker
TYLin
Pita Juarez
Comms Consultant
Ayako Tischler
Moonshot Missions
Joy Banner
The Descendants Project
Keiko Wilkins
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Sonali Abraham
Pacific Institute
Angela Guyadeen
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Sarah Traore
The University of Texas at Austin
Temiloluwa Akinyemi
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Nusrat Molla
Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University
Cindy Donis
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
Jacob Bernal
American Rivers
Dira Johanif
Charles River Climate Compact
Veronica Garibay
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Vicky Espinoza
CaliWaterAg
Elizabeth Ruiz
CA State Water Resources Control Board
Jessica Thrasher
Colorado State University
Daniel Cordalis
Native American Rights Fund
Cate Mingoya-LaFortune
Groundwork USA
Oluwole (OJ) McFoy
Houston Public Works
Dezaraye Bagalayos
Allensworth Progressive Association
Beth Roach
Sierra Club
Martin Griffin
Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
Rhysea Agrawal
The Xylom
Gia Moreno
Hood Community Council
Emily Warren Armitano
Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Quentin Stubbs
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
José M. Rodríguez-Flores
California State University, Monterey Bay
Monica Driggers
Massachusetts Rivers Alliance
Xochitl Bervera
Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters
Kabir Thatte
The Vessel Collective
Esteban Ortiz
The Gorge Association of Aspirations/La Asociacion de Aspiraciones del Gorge
Nicole Chavas
Greenprint Partners
Adriana Renteria
State Water Board
Silvia R. Gonzalez
UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute
Billie Li
Wright-Pierce
Pedro Hernandez
GreenLatinos
maritza mendoza
Empower DC
Fernando Ramirez
Bridges 2023 International
Tanner Yess
Groundwork USA
Angela Mooney D’Arcy
Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples
Julian Gonzalez
Earthjustice
Diana Piña Yitbarek
NC Department of Environmental Quality
Frank Ruiz
The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz
Cyatharine Alias
Center for Neighborhood Technology
Rene Henery
Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno
Angela M Chalk
Healthy Community Resources Services
Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Daniela Sherrill
ASU / AZ Water for All
Ehab Meselhe
Tulane University
Heather Tanana
University of California, Irvine
Gabe Vasquez
US Congress
Newsha Ajami
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Lenise Marrero
Brown and Caldwell
Crystal Davis
National Parks Conservation Association
Rob Larson
Grand Valley State University
Jessica Dandridge-Smith
The Water Collaborative
Alyssa Senturk
California Water Data Consortium
Bleu Adams
IndigeHub
Patricia Lindsay-Harvey
Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority
Roland Jones
CIS
André Sanchez
California Wilderness Coalition
Ngodoo Atume
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
Bre’Shaun Reddick
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Ani Jayakaran
Washington State University
maritza mendoza
Empower DC
Usman Mahmood
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Analise Rivero
California Trout
Thea Louis
MSC Industrial Supply Co.
Briana Muñoz
Pacific Coast Carbon LLC
Khalid Osman
Stanford University
Jo Banner
The Descendants Project
Cheyanne Harris
Brown and Caldwell
Cathie Chavez-Morris
Equidad Group
Emma Robbins
The Chapter House
Chriscilia Cox
SUMA Consulting LLC
Huda Alkaff
Wisconsin Green Muslims
Joaquin Esquivel
California State Water Resources Control Board
Nasim Pica
WSP in the U.S.
Nataly Escobedo Garcia
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Ruthie Redmond
UC Berkeley
Andrea León-Grossmann
Vote Solar
Sidney Opiyo
University of California, Santa Cruz
Alai Reyes-Santos
University of Oregon
Parsa Saffarinia
University of California, Davis
Damian Shapes Padilla
Spirit Rock Consulting
Bridget Ray
Washington State Department of Commerce
Crystal Sanders-Alvarado
Seaworthy
Carlos Moran
Northeast Trees
Shandin Pete
University of British Columbia
Victor Galvan
Denver Mayor's Office for Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience
Nathaniel I Kollie
University of California Santa Cruz
Ean Tafoya
GreenLatinos
Jasmine Walker
IMPACT Community Action
Sanjiv Sinha
Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.
Mahtaab Bagherzadeh
NWF/Clean Water for All
Oday Salim
University of Michigan Law School
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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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Can’t access your email? Get in touch with us!
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What are Color of Water members talking about?

Tree ambassadors help Milwaukee residents fall in love with trees » Yale Climate Connections
Yale Climate Connections is a nonpartisan, multimedia service providing daily broadcast radio programming and original web-based reporting, commentary, and analysis on the issue of climate
VOICES: Why Michigan’s data center fight is really about who gets to decide – Planet Detroit
Data centers are being developed in Michigan, but local concerns about environmental impacts and community effects are being overlooked. [from Planet Detroit]

2.9 billion gallons of clean drinking water added to California’s supply with new investments | Governor of California
[from Governor of California]