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

VOICES: Protecting what we love in the age of AI – Planet Detroit
The director of Michigan Green Muslims offers a faith-based perspective on why Great Lakes communities are pushing back against data centers. [from Planet Detroit]

How more than 240 million gallons of sewage flowed into the Potomac River – NPR
NPR's Erika Ryan reports from the site of one of the nation's largest sewage spills ever — just outside of Washington, D.C. — in January.

Nearly half of L.A. County’s pavement may be unnecessary, new map finds – Los Angeles Times
Researchers have released the first parcel-level analysis to map all paved surfaces across L.A. County. In particular, large parking lots are ripe for change, they