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

AOC holds jar of brown water from next to Meta’s Georgia data center at EPA hearing: Residents ‘rely on bottled water to drink and prepare meals’ – AOL
Neighbors of a massive Meta data center can’t drink their water, and their water bills are set to skyrocket. [from AOL.com]

Environmental justice raised over data centers targeting rural NM – KRWG Public Media
GreenLatinos believes states should approach regulation of artificial intelligence data centers from a mindset of community protection and adopt a high bar for regulation. [from

'Bringing these worlds together' – Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
[from Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability]