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

How a Michigan Supreme Court decision on a Line 5 permit might ripple beyond the pipeline – Interlochen Public Radio
Justices vacated a permit for the pipeline, while also issuing a consequential ruling for state environmental reviews on several fronts — including the state’s public

New Park Bench Monitors Offer a Pathway to Air Pollution Solutions – The Washington Informer
The District added four Village Green monitors in May to increase air quality data accessibility for residents in underserved wards. [from The Washington Informer]

New Colorado River plan causes concern and uncertainty for some tribal nations in Arizona – KNAU Arizona Public Radio
The federal framework could result in steep cuts to Arizona’s share of river water. Some Native American communities could be impacted. [from KNAU Arizona Public