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

Day laborers face hardships in the aftermath of Altadena fire, study reveals – CaloNews.com
A new report shows that many day laborers who worked in debris cleanup and recovery after the January 2025 wildfire in Altadena often worked through

American data centers in just seven states are reportedly using more water than all the cities in California – TechRadar
Data centers in seven states consume 10.4 million acre-feet of water [from TechRadar]

The Great Mayfly Swarms of Lake Erie – National Parks Conservation Association
Summer mayflies along Lake Erie’s coastline may be nasty and annoying, but they share glad tidings about environmental recovery. NPCA played a role. [from National