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