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

Will adding more lanes fix I-270 congestion? CDOT’s favored fix will test its new mission, opponents say. – The Colorado Sun
CDOT wants to widen I-270 to speed traffic and heighten safety, but clean transportation advocates say the old solutions are no longer relevant. [from The