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