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