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

California’s push to limit groundwater pumping could leave small farmers in the dust – Los Angeles Times
According to a new report, California groundwater regulations threaten to put many small farms out of business. [from Los Angeles Times]

A simple idea to bring clean drinking water to U.S. homes at a lower cost – Sustainability Accelerator
[from Sustainability Accelerator]

New federal law could bring running water to tribal homes, but states have concerns – NPR
More than 10,000 homes on Southwestern Indian reservations lack running water. This despite tribes substantial water rights. A new solution is being held up as