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

Day laborers face hardships in the aftermath of Altadena fire, study reveals – CaloNews.com
A new report shows that many day laborers who worked in debris cleanup and recovery after the January 2025 wildfire in Altadena often worked through

American data centers in just seven states are reportedly using more water than all the cities in California – TechRadar
Data centers in seven states consume 10.4 million acre-feet of water [from TechRadar]

The Great Mayfly Swarms of Lake Erie – National Parks Conservation Association
Summer mayflies along Lake Erie’s coastline may be nasty and annoying, but they share glad tidings about environmental recovery. NPCA played a role. [from National