Color Of Water

Elevating Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other voices of color to change the narrative around water.

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Joaquin Esquivel

California State Water Resources Control Board

Adriana Renteria

State Water Board

Rene Henery

Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno

Silvia R. Gonzalez

UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute

Danielle Rivera

University of California Berkeley

Afia Zakiya

Independent Africana Studies and EJ scholar-activist, currently Executive Director of Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation

Heather Tanana

University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Billie Li

Wright-Pierce

Kimbaya Carriere

Nuxalk First Nation

Alondra Hernandez-Bose

WEAT

Pallavi Bharadwaj

SEG

Esteban Ortiz

The Gorge Association of Aspirations/La Asociacion de Aspiraciones del Gorge

Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes

GreenLatinos

Keiko Wilkins

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Val Schull

GreenLatinos

Mahtaab Bagherzadeh

NWF/Clean Water for All

Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš

Azul

Nicole Nelson

Equity Legal Services, Inc

Sarah Traore

The University of Texas at Austin

Marc Oliver Quijano

Jacobs

Shandin Pete

University of British Columbia

Chriscilia Cox

SUMA Consulting LLC

Ani Jayakaran

Washington State University

Tony Bridges

The Maryland General Assembly

Pedro Hernandez

GreenLatinos

Nureen Faiza Anisha

Oregon State University

Ean Tafoya

GreenLatinos

Guadalupe Fernandez

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Cathie Chavez-Morris

Equidad Group

Alai Reyes-Santos

Alaí Community Consulting

Monica Driggers

Massachusetts Rivers Alliance

Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz

Greenroots Institute

Ngodoo Atume

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Carlos Moran

Northeast Trees

Shama Perveen

Ceres

Jessica Thrasher

Colorado State University

Pablo Ortiz

Union of Concerned Scientists

Kedar Dabhadkar

Lam Research

Diana Piña Yitbarek

NC Department of Environmental Quality

Moisés Moreno-Rivera

Trust for Public Land

Alex Ortiz

Austin Water and Wastewater Commission

Crystal Sanders-Alvarado

Seaworthy

Alastair Bitsóí

Near the Water Media & Communications Group

Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)

Khalid Osman

Stanford University

Cheyanne Harris

Brown and Caldwell

Ed Marin

Louisville Water

Joy Banner

The Descendants Project

Hayat Rasul

LA County

Sapna Mulki

Environmental Policy Innovation Center

Lenise Marrero

Brown and Caldwell

Thea Louis

MSC Industrial Supply Co.

Lucero Sanchez

San Diego Coastkeeper

Jazmin Ricks

University of Pennsylvania

Sydney Garcia

The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Andrea León-Grossmann

Angela Guyadeen

NRDC

Sanjiv Sinha

Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.

Xochitl Bervera

Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters

Sandi Matsumoto

The Nature Conservancy

Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Carolan Sonderegger

For Love of Water

Harshini Ratnayaka

Save the Dunes

Quentin Stubbs

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Paula Buchanan

National Center for Domestic Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School

Roland Jones

CIS

Sonali Abraham

Pacific Institute

Kimbaya Carriere

Nuxalk First Nation

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Ciara Horne

SBG Digital

Allen Townsend

World Wildlife Fund

Damian Shapes Padilla

Spirit Rock Consulting

Breanna Gonzalez

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Walt Walker

TYLin

Chauncey Foster

we.grow.eco

Parsa Saffarinia

University of California, Davis

Mallika Nocco

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Ruthie Redmond

UC Berkeley

Briana Muñoz

Pacific Coast Carbon LLC

Angela Mooney D’Arcy

Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples

Ayako Tischler

Xylem

Marccus Hendricks

University of Maryland - College Park

Tanasia Swift

Billion Oyster Project

José M. Rodríguez-Flores

California State University, Monterey Bay

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Maritza Mendoza

Empower DC

Daniel Cordalis

Native American Rights Fund

Emma Robbins

The Chapter House

Sidney Opiyo

University of California, Santa Cruz

Nataly Escobedo Garcia

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Huda Alkaff

Wisconsin Green Muslims

Victor Galvan

Denver Mayor's Office for Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience

Jeremy Orr

Earthjustice

Olga Cano

HUD

Jessica Dandridge-Smith

The Water Collaborative

Nathaniel I Kollie

University of California Santa Cruz

Frank Ruiz

The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz

Nadine Robertson

Veolia North America

Rachele Lopez

Justice Outside

Nahal G. Ipakchi

BluePoint Planning

Bridget Ray

Washington State Department of Commerce

Jacob Bernal

American Rivers

Gia Moreno

Hood Community Council

Susana De Anda

Community Water Center

Jo Banner

The Descendants Project

André Sanchez

California Wilderness Coalition

Nikki Tulley

University of Arizona

Jasmine Walker

Ohio Environmental Council

Elizabeth Ruiz

CA State Water Resources Control Board

Emily Warren Armitano

Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Cheyenne Holliday

Verde

Jaiden Willeto

Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop

Nasim Pica

WSP in the U.S.

Bleu Adams

IndigeHub

Cyatharine Alias

Center for Neighborhood Technology

Olga Morales

Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated

Rhysea Agrawal

The Xylom

Newsha Ajami

Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Charles Cassagnol

Western Ecology, LLC

Nicole Chavas

Greenprint Partners

Oday Salim

University of Michigan Law School

Maisah Khan

Regenerative Agriculture Foundation

Vicky Espinoza

CaliWaterAg

Andrian Lee

BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC

Martin Griffin

Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District

Fernando Ramirez

Bridges 2023 International

Cate Caldwell

Illinois Environmental Council

Julia Fay Bernal

Pueblo Action Alliance

Nieves Vazquez

Water For People

Berhanu Sinshaw

University of California Merced

Benu Amun Ra

S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center

Nusrat Molla

Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University

Portia Shepherd

Blackbelt Women Rising

Julian Gonzalez

Earthjustice

Alyssa Senturk

California Water Data Consortium

Maria Elena Kennedy

Kennedy Communications, Inc

Talia London

The Common Acre

Tiffany Sevilla

Greenprint Partners

Daniela Sherrill

ASU / AZ Water for All

Usman Mahmood

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Oluwole (OJ) McFoy

Houston Public Works

Direlle Calica

Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)

Felice Green

Milwaukee Water Commons

Sri Vedachalam

Cisolutions

Analise Rivero

California Trout

Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George

Ferris Institute

Kabir Thatte

The Vessel Collective

Cindy Donis

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice

Ashwin Dhanasekar

Brown and Caldwell

Bre’Shaun Reddick

Alliance for the Great Lakes

Aria Harris

TYLin

Charming Evelyn

OceanWell Water

Rhea Drozdenko

Connecticut River Conservancy

Carlos Calderon

West Michigan Environmental Action Council

Angela M Chalk

Healthy Community Resources Services

John Echohawk

Native American Rights Fund

Crystal Davis

National Parks Conservation Association

Beth Roach

Sierra Club

Patricia Lindsay-Harvey

Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority

Ehab Meselhe

Tulane University

Dezaraye Bagalayos

Allensworth Progressive Association

Arsum Pathak

National Wildlife Federation

Arohi Sharma

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Cate Mingoya-LaFortune

Groundwork USA

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Tanner Yess

Groundwork USA

Priscila Alves

University of Maryland

Pita Juarez

Comms Consultant

Rob Larson

Grand Valley State University

Vinicius Taguchi

North Carolina State University

Dira Johanif

Charles River Climate Compact

Michael Méndez

UC Irvine

Temiloluwa Akinyemi

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Veronica Garibay

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

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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.

explore the Color of Water directory

experts across the country

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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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