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