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

VOICES: Protecting what we love in the age of AI – Planet Detroit
The director of Michigan Green Muslims offers a faith-based perspective on why Great Lakes communities are pushing back against data centers. [from Planet Detroit]

How more than 240 million gallons of sewage flowed into the Potomac River – NPR
NPR's Erika Ryan reports from the site of one of the nation's largest sewage spills ever — just outside of Washington, D.C. — in January.

Nearly half of L.A. County’s pavement may be unnecessary, new map finds – Los Angeles Times
Researchers have released the first parcel-level analysis to map all paved surfaces across L.A. County. In particular, large parking lots are ripe for change, they