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

300 Million Gallons of Raw Sewage and a Nation's Crumbling Pipes: America's Wastewater Infrastructure Is Failing in Real Time – Nature World News
Hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage spilled into the Potomac River after a major pipe collapse, exposing America’s worsening wastewater infrastructure crisis. [from

Native American Tribes Came Together to Secure Their Rights to Colorado River Water. Four States Are Stalling the Deal. – ProPublica
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are resisting the deal because it would allow the Navajo and Hopi to lease water to cities downstream, likely

Millions of Americans still live without running water. What it will take to plug the water gap – Straight Arrow
Millions of Americans still lack running water, forcing families to haul every drop as aging systems, high costs and poor data tracking widen the gap.