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