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