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

Environmental justice raised over data centers targeting rural NM – KRWG Public Media
GreenLatinos believes states should approach regulation of artificial intelligence data centers from a mindset of community protection and adopt a high bar for regulation. [from

Colorado River Water Access Calls for this Sensible Solution | Opinion – Arizona Institute for Resilience
The old ways of managing the shrinking Colorado River aren't helping Arizona. But there is a way all of the compact states could find a
