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