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