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