Color Of Water
Elevating Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other voices of color to change the narrative around water.
Pedro Hernandez
GreenLatinos
Khalid Osman
Stanford University
Pablo Ortiz
Union of Concerned Scientists
Nicole Chavas
Greenprint Partners
Emily Warren Armitano
Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš
Azul
Nureen Faiza Anisha
Oregon State University
Mallika Nocco
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Rhea Drozdenko
Connecticut River Conservancy
Charming Evelyn
OceanWell Water
Alex Ortiz
Austin Water and Wastewater Commission
Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz
Greenroots Institute
Shama Perveen
CERES
Esteban Ortiz
The Gorge Association of Aspirations/La Asociacion de Aspiraciones del Gorge
Tanner Yess
Groundwork USA
Sandi Matsumoto
The Nature Conservancy
Priscila Alves
University of Maryland
Harshini Ratnayaka
Save the Dunes
Angela Mooney D’Arcy
Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples
Ed Marin
Louisville Water
Billie Li
Wright-Pierce
Nahal G. Ipakchi
BluePoint Planning
Silvia R. Gonzalez
UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute
Ani Jayakaran
Washington State University
Heather Tanana
University of California, Irvine
Gabe Vasquez
US Congress
Felice Green
Milwaukee Water Commons
Mahtaab Bagherzadeh
NWF/Clean Water for All
Alai Reyes-Santos
University of Oregon
Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes
GreenLatinos
Brenda Coley
Milwaukee Water Commons
Victor Galvan
Denver Mayor's Office for Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience
maritza mendoza
Empower DC
Jazmin Ricks
University of Pennsylvania
Elizabeth Ruiz
CA State Water Resources Control Board
Alondra Hernandez-Bose
WEAT
Benu Amun Ra
S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center
Ruthie Redmond
UC Berkeley
Nataly Escobedo Garcia
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Nicole Nelson
Equity Legal Services, Inc
Tiffany Sevilla
Greenprint Partners
Allen Townsend
World Wildlife Fund
Alyssa Senturk
California Water Data Consortium
Tony Bridges
The Maryland General Assembly
Maria Elena Kennedy
Kennedy Communications, Inc
Susana De Anda
Community Water Center
Ehab Meselhe
Tulane University
Alastair Bitsóí
Navajo Nation Office of the President and Vice President
Sri Vedachalam
Cisolutions
Sapna Mulki
Environmental Policy Innovation Center
Tanasia Swift
Billion Oyster Project
Bleu Adams
IndigeHub
Shandin Pete
University of British Columbia
Julian Gonzalez
Earthjustice
Rob Larson
Grand Valley State University
Ngodoo Atume
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
José M. Rodríguez-Flores
California State University, Monterey Bay
Gia Moreno
Hood Community Council
Parsa Saffarinia
University of California, Davis
Nathaniel I Kollie
University of California Santa Cruz
Crystal Sanders-Alvarado
Seaworthy
Beth Roach
Sierra Club
Martin Griffin
Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
Huda Alkaff
Wisconsin Green Muslims
Oluwole (OJ) McFoy
Houston Public Works
Usman Mahmood
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Walt Walker
TYLin
maritza mendoza
Empower DC
Charles Cassagnol
Western Ecology, LLC
Cheyenne Holliday
Verde
Joy Banner
The Descendants Project
Maisah Khan
Regenerative Agriculture Foundation
Andrian Lee
BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC
Roland Jones
CIS
André Sanchez
California Wilderness Coalition
Kimbaya Carriere
Nuxalk First Nation
Bridget Ray
Washington State Department of Commerce
Angela Guyadeen
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Rachele Lopez
Justice Outside
Jasmine Walker
IMPACT Community Action
Jacob Bernal
American Rivers
Daniel Cordalis
Native American Rights Fund
Chauncey Foster
we.grow.eco
Angela M Chalk
Healthy Community Resources Services
Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Monica Driggers
Massachusetts Rivers Alliance
Lucero Sanchez
San Diego Coastkeeper
Cate Mingoya-LaFortune
Groundwork USA
Rene Henery
Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno
Fernando Ramirez
Bridges 2023 International
Cheyanne Harris
Brown and Caldwell
Arohi Sharma
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Olga Morales Pate
Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated
Jahan Taganova
City and County of Denver
Aria Harris
TYLin
Nadine Robertson
Veolia North America
Ciara Horne
SBG Digital
Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George
Ferris Institute
Kabir Thatte
The Vessel Collective
Nusrat Molla
Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University
Sonali Abraham
Pacific Institute
Olga Cano
HUD
Jo Banner
The Descendants Project
Carlos Moran
Northeast Trees
Jessica Thrasher
Colorado State University
Pallavi Bharadwaj
SEG
Chakena Sims
NRDC
Briana Muñoz
Pacific Coast Carbon LLC
Sidney Opiyo
University of California, Santa Cruz
Jessica Dandridge-Smith
The Water Collaborative
Lenise Marrero
Brown and Caldwell
Jeremy Orr
Earthjustice
Dira Johanif
Charles River Climate Compact
Portia Shepherd
www.blackbeltwomenrising.org
Julia Fay Bernal
Pueblo Action Alliance
John Echohawk
Native American Rights Fund
Jaiden Willeto
Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop
Nasim Pica
WSP in the U.S.
Daniela Sherrill
ASU / AZ Water for All
Patricia Lindsay-Harvey
Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority
Breanna Gonzalez
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Danielle Rivera
University of California Berkeley
Vinicius Taguchi
North Carolina State University
Ean Tafoya
GreenLatinos
Vicky Espinoza
CaliWaterAg
Marccus Hendricks
University of Maryland - College Park
Frank Ruiz
The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz
Temiloluwa Akinyemi
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Ayako Tischler
Xylem
Bre’Shaun Reddick
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Ashwin Dhanasekar
Brown and Caldwell
Afia Zakiya
Independent Africana Studies and EJ scholar-activist, currently Executive Director of Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation
Xochitl Bervera
Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters
Crystal Davis
National Parks Conservation Association
Andrea León-Grossmann
Vote Solar
Sarah Traore
The University of Texas at Austin
Paula Buchanan
National Center for Domestic Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School
Carlos Calderon
West Michigan Environmental Action Council
Sydney Garcia
The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Rhysea Agrawal
The Xylom
Pita Juarez
Comms Consultant
Veronica Garibay
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Oday Salim
University of Michigan Law School
Cathie Chavez-Morris
Equidad Group
Val Schull
GreenLatinos
Joaquin Esquivel
California State Water Resources Control Board
Kedar Dabhadkar
Lam Research
Quentin Stubbs
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Marc Oliver Quijano
Jacobs
Cate Caldwell
Illinois Environmental Council
Cyatharine Alias
Center for Neighborhood Technology
Dezaraye Bagalayos
Allensworth Progressive Association
Newsha Ajami
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Thea Louis
MSC Industrial Supply Co.
Carolan Sonderegger
For Love of Water
Nikki Tulley
University of Arizona
Talia London
The Common Acre
Adriana Renteria
State Water Board
Cindy Donis
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
Damian Shapes Padilla
Spirit Rock Consulting
Michael Méndez
UC Irvine
Emma Robbins
The Chapter House
Keiko Wilkins
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Chriscilia Cox
SUMA Consulting LLC
Sanjiv Sinha
Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.
Analise Rivero
California Trout
Diana Piña Yitbarek
NC Department of Environmental Quality
Arsum Pathak
National Wildlife Federation
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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!
Are you a current member?
Can’t access your email? Get in touch with us!
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What are Color of Water members talking about?

VOICES: Protecting what we love in the age of AI – Planet Detroit
The director of Michigan Green Muslims offers a faith-based perspective on why Great Lakes communities are pushing back against data centers. [from Planet Detroit]

Tree ambassadors help Milwaukee residents fall in love with trees » Yale Climate Connections
Yale Climate Connections is a nonpartisan, multimedia service providing daily broadcast radio programming and original web-based reporting, commentary, and analysis on the issue of climate
VOICES: Why Michigan’s data center fight is really about who gets to decide – Planet Detroit
Data centers are being developed in Michigan, but local concerns about environmental impacts and community effects are being overlooked. [from Planet Detroit]