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