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

How more than 240 million gallons of sewage flowed into the Potomac River – NPR
NPR's Erika Ryan reports from the site of one of the nation's largest sewage spills ever — just outside of Washington, D.C. — in January.

Nearly half of L.A. County’s pavement may be unnecessary, new map finds – Los Angeles Times
Researchers have released the first parcel-level analysis to map all paved surfaces across L.A. County. In particular, large parking lots are ripe for change, they