Color Of Water

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

Arohi Sharma

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Jo Banner

The Descendants Project

John Echohawk

Native American Rights Fund

Carolan Sonderegger

For Love of Water

Tiffany Sevilla

Greenprint Partners

Jasmine Walker

Ohio Environmental Council

Huda Alkaff

Wisconsin Green Muslims

Ayako Tischler

Xylem

Daniel Cordalis

Native American Rights Fund

Kedar Dabhadkar

Lam Research

Aria Harris

TYLin

Frank Ruiz

The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz

Nicole Nelson

Equity Legal Services, Inc

Cate Caldwell

Illinois Environmental Council

Patricia Lindsay-Harvey

Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority

Khalid Osman

Stanford University

Carlos Calderon

West Michigan Environmental Action Council

Danielle Rivera

University of California Berkeley

Usman Mahmood

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Parsa Saffarinia

University of California, Davis

Dezaraye Bagalayos

Allensworth Progressive Association

Billie Li

Wright-Pierce

Jacob Bernal

American Rivers

Angela Mooney D’Arcy

Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples

Jessica Thrasher

Colorado State University

Joaquin Esquivel

California State Water Resources Control Board

Afia Zakiya

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

Heather Tanana

University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Keiko Wilkins

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Kimbaya Carriere

Nuxalk First Nation

Breanna Gonzalez

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Esteban Ortiz

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

Crystal Sanders-Alvarado

Seaworthy

Carlos Moran

Northeast Trees

Emma Robbins

The Chapter House

Silvia R. Gonzalez

UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute

Adriana Renteria

State Water Board

Cate Mingoya-LaFortune

Groundwork USA

Chriscilia Cox

SUMA Consulting LLC

Alastair Bitsóí

Near the Water Media & Communications Group

Pablo Ortiz

Union of Concerned Scientists

Jeremy Orr

Earthjustice

Gia Moreno

Hood Community Council

Rhysea Agrawal

The Xylom

Quentin Stubbs

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Nusrat Molla

Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University

Roland Jones

CIS

André Sanchez

California Wilderness Coalition

Portia Shepherd

Blackbelt Women Rising

Charming Evelyn

OceanWell Water

Nathaniel I Kollie

University of California Santa Cruz

Nahal G. Ipakchi

BluePoint Planning

Val Schull

GreenLatinos

Maritza Mendoza

Empower DC

Felice Green

Milwaukee Water Commons

Sarah Traore

The University of Texas at Austin

Fernando Ramirez

Bridges 2023 International

Charles Cassagnol

Western Ecology, LLC

Shama Perveen

Ceres

Bleu Adams

IndigeHub

Nataly Escobedo Garcia

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Sonali Abraham

Pacific Institute

Nicole Chavas

Greenprint Partners

Diana Piña Yitbarek

NC Department of Environmental Quality

Oday Salim

University of Michigan Law School

Damian Shapes Padilla

Spirit Rock Consulting

Monica Driggers

Massachusetts Rivers Alliance

Julian Gonzalez

Earthjustice

Vinicius Taguchi

North Carolina State University

Pallavi Bharadwaj

SEG

Sri Vedachalam

Cisolutions

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Pedro Hernandez

GreenLatinos

Harshini Ratnayaka

Save the Dunes

Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes

GreenLatinos

Dira Johanif

Charles River Climate Compact

Alondra Hernandez-Bose

WEAT

Olga Cano

HUD

Ehab Meselhe

Tulane University

Maria Elena Kennedy

Kennedy Communications, Inc

Oluwole (OJ) McFoy

Houston Public Works

Joy Banner

The Descendants Project

Ani Jayakaran

Washington State University

Julia Fay Bernal

Pueblo Action Alliance

Bridget Ray

Washington State Department of Commerce

Temiloluwa Akinyemi

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Cyatharine Alias

Center for Neighborhood Technology

Nasim Pica

WSP in the U.S.

Briana Muñoz

Pacific Coast Carbon LLC

Andrian Lee

BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC

Kabir Thatte

The Vessel Collective

Alai Reyes-Santos

Alaí Community Consulting

Allen Townsend

World Wildlife Fund

Daniela Sherrill

ASU / AZ Water for All

Sidney Opiyo

University of California, Santa Cruz

Rachele Lopez

Justice Outside

Tanasia Swift

Billion Oyster Project

Thea Louis

MSC Industrial Supply Co.

Ngodoo Atume

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Tanner Yess

Groundwork USA

Marccus Hendricks

University of Maryland - College Park

Priscila Alves

University of Maryland

Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Hayat Rasul

LA County

Sandi Matsumoto

The Nature Conservancy

Lucero Sanchez

San Diego Coastkeeper

Talia London

The Common Acre

Tony Bridges

The Maryland General Assembly

Analise Rivero

California Trout

Olga Morales

Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated

Veronica Garibay

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Newsha Ajami

Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Nureen Faiza Anisha

Oregon State University

Sapna Mulki

Environmental Policy Innovation Center

Shandin Pete

University of British Columbia

Cindy Donis

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice

Xochitl Bervera

Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters

Guadalupe Fernandez

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Jessica Dandridge-Smith

The Water Collaborative

Alyssa Senturk

California Water Data Consortium

Susana De Anda

Community Water Center

Sydney Garcia

The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Pita Juarez

Comms Consultant

Maisah Khan

Regenerative Agriculture Foundation

Benu Amun Ra

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

Nieves Vazquez

Water For People

Nikki Tulley

University of Arizona

Crystal Davis

National Parks Conservation Association

Cathie Chavez-Morris

Equidad Group

Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)

Rob Larson

Grand Valley State University

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Lenise Marrero

Brown and Caldwell

Ciara Horne

SBG Digital

José M. Rodríguez-Flores

California State University, Monterey Bay

Beth Roach

Sierra Club

Cheyenne Holliday

Verde

Ed Marin

Louisville Water

Arsum Pathak

National Wildlife Federation

Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš

Azul

Ashwin Dhanasekar

Brown and Caldwell

Chauncey Foster

we.grow.eco

Ruthie Redmond

UC Berkeley

Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz

Greenroots Institute

Vicky Espinoza

CaliWaterAg

Nadine Robertson

Veolia North America

Rene Henery

Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno

Alex Ortiz

Austin Water and Wastewater Commission

Walt Walker

TYLin

Marc Oliver Quijano

Jacobs

Elizabeth Ruiz

CA State Water Resources Control Board

Mahtaab Bagherzadeh

NWF/Clean Water for All

Cheyanne Harris

Brown and Caldwell

Moisés Moreno-Rivera

Trust for Public Land

Victor Galvan

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

Emily Warren Armitano

Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Martin Griffin

Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District

Angela M Chalk

Healthy Community Resources Services

Rhea Drozdenko

Connecticut River Conservancy

Michael Méndez

UC Irvine

Jaiden Willeto

Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop

Jazmin Ricks

University of Pennsylvania

Andrea León-Grossmann

Ean Tafoya

GreenLatinos

Berhanu Sinshaw

University of California Merced

Direlle Calica

Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)

Mallika Nocco

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Sanjiv Sinha

Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.

Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George

Ferris Institute

Bre’Shaun Reddick

Alliance for the Great Lakes

Paula Buchanan

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

Angela Guyadeen

NRDC

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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.

explore the Color of Water directory

experts across the country

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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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