Color Of Water
Elevating Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other voices of color to change the narrative around water.
Tiffany Sevilla
Greenprint Partners
Cheyenne Holliday
Verde
Benu Amun Ra
S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center
Talia London
The Common Acre
Arohi Sharma
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Danielle Rivera
University of California Berkeley
Afia Zakiya
Independent Africana Studies and EJ scholar-activist, currently Executive Director of Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation
Diana Piña Yitbarek
NC Department of Environmental Quality
Ed Marin
Louisville Water
Julia Fay Bernal
Pueblo Action Alliance
John Echohawk
Native American Rights Fund
Angela M Chalk
Healthy Community Resources Services
Martin Griffin
Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
Sidney Opiyo
University of California, Santa Cruz
Khalid Osman
Stanford University
Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz
Greenroots Institute
Tanner Yess
Groundwork USA
Sapna Mulki
Environmental Policy Innovation Center
Temiloluwa Akinyemi
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Chriscilia Cox
SUMA Consulting LLC
Val Schull
GreenLatinos
Carolan Sonderegger
For Love of Water
Damian Shapes Padilla
Spirit Rock Consulting
Frank Ruiz
The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz
Sonali Abraham
Pacific Institute
Arsum Pathak
National Wildlife Federation
Allen Townsend
World Wildlife Fund
Esteban Ortiz
The Gorge Association of Aspirations/La Asociacion de Aspiraciones del Gorge
Cate Caldwell
Illinois Environmental Council
Kabir Thatte
The Vessel Collective
Portia Shepherd
Blackbelt Women Rising
Andrea León-Grossmann
Vote Solar
Parsa Saffarinia
University of California, Davis
Pallavi Bharadwaj
SEG
Sandi Matsumoto
The Nature Conservancy
Veronica Garibay
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Roland Jones
CIS
Sydney Garcia
The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Cindy Donis
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
Charming Evelyn
OceanWell Water
Ehab Meselhe
Tulane University
Jaiden Willeto
Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop
Nieves Vazquez
Water For People
Cathie Chavez-Morris
Equidad Group
Keiko Wilkins
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Cheyanne Harris
Brown and Caldwell
Walt Walker
TYLin
Lenise Marrero
Brown and Caldwell
Briana Muñoz
Pacific Coast Carbon LLC
Chauncey Foster
we.grow.eco
Bridget Ray
Washington State Department of Commerce
Huda Alkaff
Wisconsin Green Muslims
Olga Morales
Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated
Heather Tanana
University of Denver Sturm College of Law
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš
Azul
Maria Elena Kennedy
Kennedy Communications, Inc
Joy Banner
The Descendants Project
Michael Méndez
UC Irvine
Crystal Sanders-Alvarado
Seaworthy
Crystal Davis
National Parks Conservation Association
Chakena Sims
NRDC
Charles Cassagnol
Western Ecology, LLC
Dira Johanif
Charles River Climate Compact
Sarah Traore
The University of Texas at Austin
Jazmin Ricks
University of Pennsylvania
Susana De Anda
Community Water Center
Nadine Robertson
Veolia North America
Alex Ortiz
Austin Water and Wastewater Commission
Felice Green
Milwaukee Water Commons
Nikki Tulley
University of Arizona
Nataly Escobedo Garcia
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Mahtaab Bagherzadeh
NWF/Clean Water for All
Brenda Coley
Milwaukee Water Commons
Rhea Drozdenko
Connecticut River Conservancy
Hayat Rasul
LA County
Joaquin Esquivel
California State Water Resources Control Board
Alyssa Senturk
California Water Data Consortium
Xochitl Bervera
Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters
Nahal G. Ipakchi
BluePoint Planning
Bleu Adams
IndigeHub
Rhysea Agrawal
The Xylom
Jeremy Orr
Earthjustice
Kedar Dabhadkar
Lam Research
Pita Juarez
Comms Consultant
Shama Perveen
Ceres
Shandin Pete
University of British Columbia
Direlle Calica
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)
Maritza Mendoza
Empower DC
Jo Banner
The Descendants Project
Emily Warren Armitano
Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Vicky Espinoza
CaliWaterAg
Bre’Shaun Reddick
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Monica Driggers
Massachusetts Rivers Alliance
Newsha Ajami
Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Nasim Pica
WSP in the U.S.
Jasmine Walker
Ohio Environmental Council
Alondra Hernandez-Bose
WEAT
Sanjiv Sinha
Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.
Oluwole (OJ) McFoy
Houston Public Works
Daniela Sherrill
ASU / AZ Water for All
Vinicius Taguchi
North Carolina State University
Breanna Gonzalez
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Olga Cano
HUD
Oday Salim
University of Michigan Law School
Adriana Renteria
State Water Board
Carlos Moran
Northeast Trees
Lucero Sanchez
San Diego Coastkeeper
Harshini Ratnayaka
Save the Dunes
Ani Jayakaran
Washington State University
Cate Mingoya-LaFortune
Groundwork USA
Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George
Ferris Institute
Jahan Taganova
City and County of Denver
Dezaraye Bagalayos
Allensworth Progressive Association
Ruthie Redmond
UC Berkeley
Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes
GreenLatinos
Nusrat Molla
Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University
Pedro Hernandez
GreenLatinos
Jacob Bernal
American Rivers
Marccus Hendricks
University of Maryland - College Park
Daniel Cordalis
Native American Rights Fund
Carlos Calderon
West Michigan Environmental Action Council
Billie Li
Wright-Pierce
Julian Gonzalez
Earthjustice
Angela Guyadeen
NRDC
Nureen Faiza Anisha
Oregon State University
Priscila Alves
University of Maryland
André Sanchez
California Wilderness Coalition
Victor Galvan
Denver Mayor's Office for Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience
Jessica Thrasher
Colorado State University
Kimbaya Carriere
Nuxalk First Nation
Andrian Lee
BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC
Alai Reyes-Santos
Alaí Community Consulting
Paula Buchanan
National Center for Domestic Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School
Ayako Tischler
Xylem
Fernando Ramirez
Bridges 2023 International
Angela Mooney D’Arcy
Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples
Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Maisah Khan
Regenerative Agriculture Foundation
Tony Bridges
The Maryland General Assembly
Ciara Horne
SBG Digital
Guadalupe F
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Sri Vedachalam
Cisolutions
Alastair Bitsóí
Near the Water Media & Communications Group
Aria Harris
TYLin
Nathaniel I Kollie
University of California Santa Cruz
Berhanu Sinshaw
University of California Merced
Pablo Ortiz
Union of Concerned Scientists
Quentin Stubbs
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Usman Mahmood
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Elizabeth Ruiz
CA State Water Resources Control Board
Thea Louis
MSC Industrial Supply Co.
Beth Roach
Sierra Club
Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Ashwin Dhanasekar
Brown and Caldwell
Chakena Sims
NRDC
Nicole Nelson
Equity Legal Services, Inc
Tanasia Swift
Billion Oyster Project
Patricia Lindsay-Harvey
Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority
Moisés Moreno-Rivera
Trust for Public Land
Gia Moreno
Hood Community Council
Cyatharine Alias
Center for Neighborhood Technology
Nicole Chavas
Greenprint Partners
Rob Larson
Grand Valley State University
Silvia R. Gonzalez
UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute
Ean Tafoya
GreenLatinos
Ngodoo Atume
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
Jessica Dandridge-Smith
The Water Collaborative
Emma Robbins
The Chapter House
Marc Oliver Quijano
Jacobs
Analise Rivero
California Trout
Rene Henery
Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno
Jahan Taganova
City and County of Denver
Rachele Lopez
Justice Outside
Mallika Nocco
University of Wisconsin–Madison
José M. Rodríguez-Flores
California State University, Monterey Bay
trending topics
These are the top topics that reporters, decision makers, and partners are looking for experts to speak about.
Video Library
Watch water experts share their stories and perspectives with reporters, event audiences, podcast hosts, and more.
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!
Are you a current member?
Can’t access your email? Get in touch with us!
Are you a journalist?
Download the directory and opt-in to get pitches featuring Color of Water stories.
What are Color of Water members talking about?

How a Michigan Supreme Court decision on a Line 5 permit might ripple beyond the pipeline – Interlochen Public Radio
Justices vacated a permit for the pipeline, while also issuing a consequential ruling for state environmental reviews on several fronts — including the state’s public

New Park Bench Monitors Offer a Pathway to Air Pollution Solutions – The Washington Informer
The District added four Village Green monitors in May to increase air quality data accessibility for residents in underserved wards. [from The Washington Informer]

New Colorado River plan causes concern and uncertainty for some tribal nations in Arizona – KNAU Arizona Public Radio
The federal framework could result in steep cuts to Arizona’s share of river water. Some Native American communities could be impacted. [from KNAU Arizona Public