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