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