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