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

300 Million Gallons of Raw Sewage and a Nation's Crumbling Pipes: America's Wastewater Infrastructure Is Failing in Real Time – Nature World News
Hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage spilled into the Potomac River after a major pipe collapse, exposing America’s worsening wastewater infrastructure crisis. [from

Native American Tribes Came Together to Secure Their Rights to Colorado River Water. Four States Are Stalling the Deal. – ProPublica
Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming are resisting the deal because it would allow the Navajo and Hopi to lease water to cities downstream, likely

Millions of Americans still live without running water. What it will take to plug the water gap – Straight Arrow
Millions of Americans still lack running water, forcing families to haul every drop as aging systems, high costs and poor data tracking widen the gap.