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