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