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

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