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