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

Day laborers face hardships in the aftermath of Altadena fire, study reveals – CaloNews.com
A new report shows that many day laborers who worked in debris cleanup and recovery after the January 2025 wildfire in Altadena often worked through

American data centers in just seven states are reportedly using more water than all the cities in California – TechRadar
Data centers in seven states consume 10.4 million acre-feet of water [from TechRadar]

The Great Mayfly Swarms of Lake Erie – National Parks Conservation Association
Summer mayflies along Lake Erie’s coastline may be nasty and annoying, but they share glad tidings about environmental recovery. NPCA played a role. [from National