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