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