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