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