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