Color Of Water

Elevating Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other voices of color to change the narrative around water.

Afia Zakiya

Independent Africana Studies and EJ scholar-activist, currently Executive Director of Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation

Carlos Calderon

West Michigan Environmental Action Council

Arsum Pathak

National Wildlife Federation

Shama Perveen

Ceres

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Cate Mingoya-LaFortune

Groundwork USA

Beth Roach

Sierra Club

Elizabeth Ruiz

CA State Water Resources Control Board

Ani Jayakaran

Washington State University

Harshini Ratnayaka

Save the Dunes

Bleu Adams

IndigeHub

Guadalupe F

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Rhysea Agrawal

The Xylom

Keiko Wilkins

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Frank Ruiz

The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz

Thea Louis

MSC Industrial Supply Co.

Kedar Dabhadkar

Lam Research

Fernando Ramirez

Bridges 2023 International

Ayako Tischler

Xylem

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Ciara Horne

SBG Digital

Ruthie Redmond

UC Berkeley

Quentin Stubbs

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Alondra Hernandez-Bose

WEAT

Cathie Chavez-Morris

Equidad Group

Lenise Marrero

Brown and Caldwell

Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš

Azul

Tanasia Swift

Billion Oyster Project

Jasmine Walker

Ohio Environmental Council

Heather Tanana

University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Esteban Ortiz

The Gorge Association of Aspirations/La Asociacion de Aspiraciones del Gorge

Ean Tafoya

GreenLatinos

Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes

GreenLatinos

Jessica Thrasher

Colorado State University

Julia Fay Bernal

Pueblo Action Alliance

Priscila Alves

University of Maryland

Olga Morales

Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated

Rhea Drozdenko

Connecticut River Conservancy

Felice Green

Milwaukee Water Commons

Pedro Hernandez

GreenLatinos

Marc Oliver Quijano

Jacobs

Vinicius Taguchi

North Carolina State University

Nikki Tulley

University of Arizona

Oday Salim

University of Michigan Law School

Jazmin Ricks

University of Pennsylvania

Andrea León-Grossmann

Vote Solar

Briana Muñoz

Pacific Coast Carbon LLC

Victor Galvan

Denver Mayor's Office for Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience

Charming Evelyn

OceanWell Water

Arohi Sharma

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Jaiden Willeto

Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop

Ed Marin

Louisville Water

Angela Mooney D’Arcy

Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples

Sri Vedachalam

Cisolutions

Pita Juarez

Comms Consultant

Sidney Opiyo

University of California, Santa Cruz

Rene Henery

Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno

Maisah Khan

Regenerative Agriculture Foundation

Ashwin Dhanasekar

Brown and Caldwell

André Sanchez

California Wilderness Coalition

Roland Jones

CIS

Joaquin Esquivel

California State Water Resources Control Board

Temiloluwa Akinyemi

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Crystal Davis

National Parks Conservation Association

Sapna Mulki

Environmental Policy Innovation Center

Nathaniel I Kollie

University of California Santa Cruz

Chriscilia Cox

SUMA Consulting LLC

Dezaraye Bagalayos

Allensworth Progressive Association

Talia London

The Common Acre

Joy Banner

The Descendants Project

Diana Piña Yitbarek

NC Department of Environmental Quality

Lucero Sanchez

San Diego Coastkeeper

Mahtaab Bagherzadeh

NWF/Clean Water for All

Maria Elena Kennedy

Kennedy Communications, Inc

Jo Banner

The Descendants Project

Michael Méndez

UC Irvine

Olga Cano

HUD

Xochitl Bervera

Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters

Rob Larson

Grand Valley State University

Benu Amun Ra

S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center

Andrian Lee

BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC

Monica Driggers

Massachusetts Rivers Alliance

Chauncey Foster

we.grow.eco

Alastair Bitsóí

Near the Water Media & Communications Group

Huda Alkaff

Wisconsin Green Muslims

Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Usman Mahmood

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Ehab Meselhe

Tulane University

John Echohawk

Native American Rights Fund

Mallika Nocco

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Cindy Donis

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice

Alai Reyes-Santos

Alaí Community Consulting

Jeremy Orr

Earthjustice

Rachele Lopez

Justice Outside

Charles Cassagnol

Western Ecology, LLC

Nieves Vazquez

Water For People

Pallavi Bharadwaj

SEG

Newsha Ajami

Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George

Ferris Institute

Khalid Osman

Stanford University

Silvia R. Gonzalez

UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute

Moisés Moreno-Rivera

Trust for Public Land

Jessica Dandridge-Smith

The Water Collaborative

Nasim Pica

WSP in the U.S.

Shandin Pete

University of British Columbia

Paula Buchanan

National Center for Domestic Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School

Sarah Traore

The University of Texas at Austin

Walt Walker

TYLin

Nataly Escobedo Garcia

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Oluwole (OJ) McFoy

Houston Public Works

Breanna Gonzalez

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Bre’Shaun Reddick

Alliance for the Great Lakes

Billie Li

Wright-Pierce

Kabir Thatte

The Vessel Collective

Angela M Chalk

Healthy Community Resources Services

Kimbaya Carriere

Nuxalk First Nation

Ngodoo Atume

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Analise Rivero

California Trout

Portia Shepherd

Blackbelt Women Rising

Daniel Cordalis

Native American Rights Fund

Cyatharine Alias

Center for Neighborhood Technology

Tanner Yess

Groundwork USA

Tony Bridges

The Maryland General Assembly

Emily Warren Armitano

Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Crystal Sanders-Alvarado

Seaworthy

Aria Harris

TYLin

Carlos Moran

Northeast Trees

Sonali Abraham

Pacific Institute

Nusrat Molla

Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University

Carolan Sonderegger

For Love of Water

Dira Johanif

Charles River Climate Compact

Maritza Mendoza

Empower DC

Brenda Coley

Milwaukee Water Commons

Alex Ortiz

Austin Water and Wastewater Commission

Marccus Hendricks

University of Maryland - College Park

Tiffany Sevilla

Greenprint Partners

Adriana Renteria

State Water Board

Daniela Sherrill

ASU / AZ Water for All

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Nureen Faiza Anisha

Oregon State University

Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz

Greenroots Institute

Nicole Nelson

Equity Legal Services, Inc

Emma Robbins

The Chapter House

Sandi Matsumoto

The Nature Conservancy

Val Schull

GreenLatinos

Patricia Lindsay-Harvey

Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority

Cate Caldwell

Illinois Environmental Council

Bridget Ray

Washington State Department of Commerce

Direlle Calica

Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)

Hayat Rasul

LA County

Angela Guyadeen

NRDC

Cheyanne Harris

Brown and Caldwell

Cheyenne Holliday

Verde

Nicole Chavas

Greenprint Partners

José M. Rodríguez-Flores

California State University, Monterey Bay

Nadine Robertson

Veolia North America

Jacob Bernal

American Rivers

Alyssa Senturk

California Water Data Consortium

Veronica Garibay

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Martin Griffin

Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District

Damian Shapes Padilla

Spirit Rock Consulting

Susana De Anda

Community Water Center

Julian Gonzalez

Earthjustice

Danielle Rivera

University of California Berkeley

Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)

Berhanu Sinshaw

University of California Merced

Nahal G. Ipakchi

BluePoint Planning

Sydney Garcia

The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Vicky Espinoza

CaliWaterAg

Parsa Saffarinia

University of California, Davis

Sanjiv Sinha

Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.

Allen Townsend

World Wildlife Fund

Gia Moreno

Hood Community Council

Pablo Ortiz

Union of Concerned Scientists

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

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.

explore the Color of Water directory

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?

Update your color of water profile.

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?