Color Of Water

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

Sandi Matsumoto

The Nature Conservancy

Mahtaab Bagherzadeh

NWF/Clean Water for All

Kedar Dabhadkar

Lam Research

André Sanchez

California Wilderness Coalition

Vinicius Taguchi

North Carolina State University

Heather Tanana

University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Dezaraye Bagalayos

Allensworth Progressive Association

Cindy Donis

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice

Veronica Garibay

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Marccus Hendricks

University of Maryland - College Park

Rhea Drozdenko

Connecticut River Conservancy

Crystal Davis

National Parks Conservation Association

Usman Mahmood

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Roland Jones

CIS

Pallavi Bharadwaj

SEG

Arohi Sharma

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Carlos Calderon

West Michigan Environmental Action Council

Ean Tafoya

GreenLatinos

Analise Rivero

California Trout

Sri Vedachalam

Cisolutions

Emily Warren Armitano

Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Sanjiv Sinha

Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.

Ani Jayakaran

Washington State University

Ruthie Redmond

UC Berkeley

Ed Marin

Louisville Water

Damian Shapes Padilla

Spirit Rock Consulting

Jaiden Willeto

Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop

Pablo Ortiz

Union of Concerned Scientists

Kimbaya Carriere

Nuxalk First Nation

Benu Amun Ra

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

Rene Henery

Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno

Pita Juarez

Comms Consultant

Mallika Nocco

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Nataly Escobedo Garcia

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Sarah Traore

The University of Texas at Austin

Nicole Chavas

Greenprint Partners

Talia London

The Common Acre

Oday Salim

University of Michigan Law School

Shama Perveen

Ceres

Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)

Priscila Alves

University of Maryland

Charming Evelyn

OceanWell Water

Maria Elena Kennedy

Kennedy Communications, Inc

Carlos Moran

Northeast Trees

Andrian Lee

BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC

Fernando Ramirez

Bridges 2023 International

Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George

Ferris Institute

Crystal Sanders-Alvarado

Seaworthy

Olga Cano

HUD

Jacob Bernal

American Rivers

Maisah Khan

Regenerative Agriculture Foundation

Julia Fay Bernal

Pueblo Action Alliance

Danielle Rivera

University of California Berkeley

Khalid Osman

Stanford University

Paula Buchanan

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

Jo Banner

The Descendants Project

Susana De Anda

Community Water Center

Ehab Meselhe

Tulane University

Marc Oliver Quijano

Jacobs

Michael Méndez

UC Irvine

Sidney Opiyo

University of California, Santa Cruz

Nathaniel I Kollie

University of California Santa Cruz

Guadalupe Fernandez

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Daniel Cordalis

Native American Rights Fund

Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz

Greenroots Institute

Carolan Sonderegger

For Love of Water

Elizabeth Ruiz

CA State Water Resources Control Board

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Ayako Tischler

Xylem

Breanna Gonzalez

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Victor Galvan

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

Angela Guyadeen

NRDC

Charles Cassagnol

Western Ecology, LLC

Moisés Moreno-Rivera

Trust for Public Land

Lucero Sanchez

San Diego Coastkeeper

Monica Driggers

Massachusetts Rivers Alliance

Sapna Mulki

Environmental Policy Innovation Center

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Quentin Stubbs

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Jessica Thrasher

Colorado State University

Andrea León-Grossmann

Vote Solar

Nadine Robertson

Veolia North America

Direlle Calica

Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)

Ashwin Dhanasekar

Brown and Caldwell

Kabir Thatte

The Vessel Collective

Cate Mingoya-LaFortune

Groundwork USA

Vicky Espinoza

CaliWaterAg

Sonali Abraham

Pacific Institute

Tanner Yess

Groundwork USA

Cheyanne Harris

Brown and Caldwell

Hayat Rasul

LA County

Tanasia Swift

Billion Oyster Project

Pedro Hernandez

GreenLatinos

Cheyenne Holliday

Verde

Keiko Wilkins

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Briana Muñoz

Pacific Coast Carbon LLC

Alex Ortiz

Austin Water and Wastewater Commission

Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes

GreenLatinos

Oluwole (OJ) McFoy

Houston Public Works

Xochitl Bervera

Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters

Felice Green

Milwaukee Water Commons

Daniela Sherrill

ASU / AZ Water for All

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Rachele Lopez

Justice Outside

Nikki Tulley

University of Arizona

Berhanu Sinshaw

University of California Merced

Shandin Pete

University of British Columbia

Nicole Nelson

Equity Legal Services, Inc

Arsum Pathak

National Wildlife Federation

Nasim Pica

WSP in the U.S.

Joaquin Esquivel

California State Water Resources Control Board

Angela Mooney D’Arcy

Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples

Parsa Saffarinia

University of California, Davis

Emma Robbins

The Chapter House

Frank Ruiz

The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz

Cate Caldwell

Illinois Environmental Council

Alastair Bitsóí

Near the Water Media & Communications Group

Silvia R. Gonzalez

UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute

Bleu Adams

IndigeHub

Jasmine Walker

Ohio Environmental Council

Martin Griffin

Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District

Portia Shepherd

Blackbelt Women Rising

Thea Louis

MSC Industrial Supply Co.

Maritza Mendoza

Empower DC

Tiffany Sevilla

Greenprint Partners

Joy Banner

The Descendants Project

Jazmin Ricks

University of Pennsylvania

Sydney Garcia

The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Olga Morales

Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated

Allen Townsend

World Wildlife Fund

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Tony Bridges

The Maryland General Assembly

Patricia Lindsay-Harvey

Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority

Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš

Azul

Beth Roach

Sierra Club

Brenda Coley

Milwaukee Water Commons

Alai Reyes-Santos

Alaí Community Consulting

Nieves Vazquez

Water For People

José M. Rodríguez-Flores

California State University, Monterey Bay

Ciara Horne

SBG Digital

Diana Piña Yitbarek

NC Department of Environmental Quality

Cathie Chavez-Morris

Equidad Group

Adriana Renteria

State Water Board

Afia Zakiya

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

Temiloluwa Akinyemi

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Huda Alkaff

Wisconsin Green Muslims

Walt Walker

TYLin

Chriscilia Cox

SUMA Consulting LLC

Val Schull

GreenLatinos

Billie Li

Wright-Pierce

Jessica Dandridge-Smith

The Water Collaborative

Rhysea Agrawal

The Xylom

Gia Moreno

Hood Community Council

Chauncey Foster

we.grow.eco

Bridget Ray

Washington State Department of Commerce

John Echohawk

Native American Rights Fund

Esteban Ortiz

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

Lenise Marrero

Brown and Caldwell

Dira Johanif

Charles River Climate Compact

Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Julian Gonzalez

Earthjustice

Nusrat Molla

Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University

Cyatharine Alias

Center for Neighborhood Technology

Angela M Chalk

Healthy Community Resources Services

Alyssa Senturk

California Water Data Consortium

Nahal G. Ipakchi

BluePoint Planning

Rob Larson

Grand Valley State University

Nureen Faiza Anisha

Oregon State University

Bre’Shaun Reddick

Alliance for the Great Lakes

Ngodoo Atume

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Alondra Hernandez-Bose

WEAT

Aria Harris

TYLin

Newsha Ajami

Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Harshini Ratnayaka

Save the Dunes

Jeremy Orr

Earthjustice

trending topics

These are the top topics that reporters, decision makers, and partners are looking for experts to speak about.

Video Library

Watch water experts share their stories and perspectives with reporters, event audiences, podcast hosts, and more.

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

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!

Are you a current member?

Update your color of water profile.

Can’t access your email?  Get in touch with us!

Are you a journalist?

Download the directory and opt-in to get pitches featuring Color of Water stories.

What are Color of Water members talking about?