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