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