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