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