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

Day laborers face hardships in the aftermath of Altadena fire, study reveals – CaloNews.com
A new report shows that many day laborers who worked in debris cleanup and recovery after the January 2025 wildfire in Altadena often worked through

American data centers in just seven states are reportedly using more water than all the cities in California – TechRadar
Data centers in seven states consume 10.4 million acre-feet of water [from TechRadar]

The Great Mayfly Swarms of Lake Erie – National Parks Conservation Association
Summer mayflies along Lake Erie’s coastline may be nasty and annoying, but they share glad tidings about environmental recovery. NPCA played a role. [from National