Color Of Water

Elevating Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other voices of color to change the narrative around water.

Keiko Wilkins

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Maria Elena Kennedy

Kennedy Communications, Inc

Fernando Ramirez

Bridges 2023 International

Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš

Azul

Sri Vedachalam

Cisolutions

Nureen Faiza Anisha

Oregon State University

shama perveen

Ceres

Martin Griffin

Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District

Oday Salim

University of Michigan Law School

Jessica Thrasher

Colorado State University

Angela M Chalk

Healthy Community Resources Services

Carlos Moran

Northeast Trees

Aria Harris

TYLin

Ed Marin

Louisville Water

Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)

Alyssa Senturk

California Water Data Consortium

Chauncey Foster

we.grow.eco

Carolan Sonderegger

For Love of Water

Sapna Mulki

Environmental Policy Innovation Center

Susana De Anda

Community Water Center

Crystal Davis

National Parks Conservation Association

Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz

Greenroots Institute

Andrea León-Grossmann

Vote Solar

Nikki Tulley

University of Arizona

Joy Banner

The Descendants Project

Rob Larson

Grand Valley State University

Jasmine Walker

IMPACT Community Action

Julia Fay Bernal

Pueblo Action Alliance

Michael Méndez

UC Irvine

Kedar Dabhadkar

Lam Research

Newsha Ajami

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Carlos Calderon

West Michigan Environmental Action Council

Alex Ortiz

Austin Water and Wastewater Commission

Gia Moreno

Hood Community Council

Daniela Sherrill

ASU / AZ Water for All

Val Schull

GreenLatinos

Mallika Nocco

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Lucero Sanchez

San Diego Coastkeeper

Ruthie Redmond

UC Berkeley

Talia London

The Common Acre

Marccus Hendricks

University of Maryland - College Park

Allen Townsend

World Wildlife Fund

Andrian Lee

BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC

Jessica Dandridge-Smith

The Water Collaborative

Alai Reyes-Santos

University of Oregon

Cathie Chavez-Morris

Equidad Group

Rachele Lopez

Justice Outside

Gabe Vasquez

US Congress

Mahtaab Bagherzadeh

NWF/Clean Water for All

Frank Ruiz

The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz

Heather Tanana

University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Nicole Nelson

Equity Legal Services, Inc

Breanna Gonzalez

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Sanjiv Sinha

Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.

Ean Tafoya

GreenLatinos

Angela Guyadeen

NRDC

Damian Shapes Padilla

Spirit Rock Consulting

Roland Jones

CIS

Elizabeth Ruiz

CA State Water Resources Control Board

Tony Bridges

The Maryland General Assembly

Diana Piña Yitbarek

NC Department of Environmental Quality

Usman Mahmood

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Olga Cano

HUD

Pita Juarez

Comms Consultant

Thea Louis

MSC Industrial Supply Co.

Parsa Saffarinia

University of California, Davis

Bridget Ray

Washington State Department of Commerce

Brenda Coley

Milwaukee Water Commons

Nicole Chavas

Greenprint Partners

Analise Rivero

California Trout

Nathaniel I Kollie

University of California Santa Cruz

Monica Driggers

Massachusetts Rivers Alliance

Nasim Pica

WSP in the U.S.

Alastair Bitsóí

Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President

Portia Shepherd

Blackbelt Women Rising

Nahal G. Ipakchi

BluePoint Planning

José M. Rodríguez-Flores

California State University, Monterey Bay

Cate Caldwell

Illinois Environmental Council

Pablo Ortiz

Union of Concerned Scientists

Ehab Meselhe

Tulane University

Alondra Hernandez-Bose

WEAT

John Echohawk

Native American Rights Fund

Tiffany Sevilla

Greenprint Partners

Esteban Ortiz

The Gorge Association of Aspirations/La Asociacion de Aspiraciones del Gorge

Tanner Yess

Groundwork USA

Pedro Hernandez

GreenLatinos

Sidney Opiyo

University of California, Santa Cruz

Jacob Bernal

American Rivers

Xochitl Bervera

Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters

Cyatharine Alias

Center for Neighborhood Technology

Emma Robbins

The Chapter House

Billie Li

Wright-Pierce

Jazmin Ricks

University of Pennsylvania

Ngodoo Atume

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Benu Amun Ra

S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center

Briana Muñoz

Pacific Coast Carbon LLC

Cheyenne Holliday

Verde

Nataly Escobedo Garcia

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Bleu Adams

IndigeHub

Sandi Matsumoto

The Nature Conservancy

Vinicius Taguchi

North Carolina State University

Daniel Cordalis

Native American Rights Fund

Danielle Rivera

University of California Berkeley

Afia Zakiya

Independent Africana Studies and EJ scholar-activist, currently Executive Director of Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation

Kimbaya Carriere

Nuxalk First Nation

Veronica Garibay

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Temiloluwa Akinyemi

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Emily Warren Armitano

Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Rene Henery

Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno

Maisah Khan

Regenerative Agriculture Foundation

Cheyanne Harris

Brown and Caldwell

Rhysea Agrawal

The Xylom

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Heather Tanana

University of California, Irvine

Charming Evelyn

OceanWell Water

Nadine Robertson

Veolia North America

Cindy Donis

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice

Sydney Garcia

The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Sarah Traore

The University of Texas at Austin

Felice Green

Milwaukee Water Commons

Cate Mingoya-LaFortune

Groundwork USA

maritza mendoza

Empower DC

Rhea Drozdenko

Connecticut River Conservancy

Julian Gonzalez

Earthjustice

Jaiden Willeto

Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop

Ani Jayakaran

Washington State University

Arsum Pathak

National Wildlife Federation

Oluwole (OJ) McFoy

Houston Public Works

Ciara Horne

SBG Digital

Khalid Osman

Stanford University

Kabir Thatte

The Vessel Collective

Chriscilia Cox

SUMA Consulting LLC

Ashwin Dhanasekar

Brown and Caldwell

Huda Alkaff

Wisconsin Green Muslims

Joaquin Esquivel

California State Water Resources Control Board

Priscila Alves

University of Maryland

Angela Mooney D’Arcy

Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples

Vicky Espinoza

CaliWaterAg

Alyssa Senturk

California Water Data Consortium

Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Arohi Sharma

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Charles Cassagnol

Western Ecology, LLC

Jeremy Orr

Earthjustice

Tanasia Swift

Billion Oyster Project

Dira Johanif

Charles River Climate Compact

Crystal Sanders-Alvarado

Seaworthy

Nusrat Molla

Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University

Adriana Renteria

State Water Board

Dezaraye Bagalayos

Allensworth Progressive Association

Shandin Pete

University of British Columbia

Olga Morales Pate

Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated

Paula Buchanan

National Center for Domestic Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School

Quentin Stubbs

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Silvia R. Gonzalez

UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute

Lenise Marrero

Brown and Caldwell

Sonali Abraham

Pacific Institute

Harshini Ratnayaka

Save the Dunes

Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George

Ferris Institute

Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes

GreenLatinos

Walt Walker

TYLin

Ayako Tischler

Xylem

Patricia Lindsay-Harvey

Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority

Marc Oliver Quijano

Jacobs

Bre’Shaun Reddick

Alliance for the Great Lakes

Victor Galvan

Denver Mayor's Office for Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience

Beth Roach

Sierra Club

Jo Banner

The Descendants Project

Pallavi Bharadwaj

SEG

André Sanchez

California Wilderness Coalition

trending topics

These are the top topics that reporters, decision makers, and partners are looking for experts to speak about.

Video Library

Watch water experts share their stories and perspectives with reporters, event audiences, podcast hosts, and more.

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.

explore the Color of Water directory

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!

Are you a current member?

Update your color of water profile.

Can’t access your email?  Get in touch with us!

Are you a journalist?

Download the directory and opt-in to get pitches featuring Color of Water stories.

What are Color of Water members talking about?