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