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