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