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

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.

explore the Color of Water directory

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?

Update your color of water profile.

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?