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
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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?

California’s push to limit groundwater pumping could leave small farmers in the dust – Los Angeles Times
According to a new report, California groundwater regulations threaten to put many small farms out of business. [from Los Angeles Times]

A simple idea to bring clean drinking water to U.S. homes at a lower cost – Sustainability Accelerator
[from Sustainability Accelerator]

New federal law could bring running water to tribal homes, but states have concerns – NPR
More than 10,000 homes on Southwestern Indian reservations lack running water. This despite tribes substantial water rights. A new solution is being held up as