Color Of Water

Elevating Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other voices of color to change the narrative around water.

Mallika Nocco

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Roland Jones

CIS

Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz

Greenroots Institute

Ayako Tischler

Xylem

Tanasia Swift

Billion Oyster Project

Beth Roach

Sierra Club

Cindy Donis

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice

Moisés Moreno-Rivera

Trust for Public Land

Kimbaya Carriere

Nuxalk First Nation

Cyatharine Alias

Center for Neighborhood Technology

Ashwin Dhanasekar

Brown and Caldwell

Aria Harris

TYLin

Cheyanne Harris

Brown and Caldwell

Tanner Yess

Groundwork USA

Joy Banner

The Descendants Project

Charming Evelyn

OceanWell Water

Oday Salim

University of Michigan Law School

Ani Jayakaran

Washington State University

Lenise Marrero

Brown and Caldwell

Felice Green

Milwaukee Water Commons

Sidney Opiyo

University of California, Santa Cruz

Nicole Nelson

Equity Legal Services, Inc

Quentin Stubbs

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Priscila Alves

University of Maryland

Billie Li

Wright-Pierce

Frank Ruiz

The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz

Olga Cano

HUD

Fernando Ramirez

Bridges 2023 International

Arohi Sharma

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Marc Oliver Quijano

Jacobs

Temiloluwa Akinyemi

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Harshini Ratnayaka

Save the Dunes

Rob Larson

Grand Valley State University

Diana Piña Yitbarek

NC Department of Environmental Quality

Crystal Sanders-Alvarado

Seaworthy

Oluwole (OJ) McFoy

Houston Public Works

Rhea Drozdenko

Connecticut River Conservancy

Ruthie Redmond

UC Berkeley

Daniela Sherrill

ASU / AZ Water for All

Sonali Abraham

Pacific Institute

Angela Guyadeen

NRDC

Jo Banner

The Descendants Project

Jacob Bernal

American Rivers

Martin Griffin

Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District

Direlle Calica

Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)

Rhysea Agrawal

The Xylom

Arsum Pathak

National Wildlife Federation

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Cathie Chavez-Morris

Equidad Group

Alastair Bitsóí

Near the Water Media & Communications Group

Alai Reyes-Santos

Alaí Community Consulting

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Usman Mahmood

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Ean Tafoya

GreenLatinos

Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George

Ferris Institute

Jasmine Walker

Ohio Environmental Council

Charles Cassagnol

Western Ecology, LLC

Dira Johanif

Charles River Climate Compact

Nusrat Molla

Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University

Parsa Saffarinia

University of California, Davis

Nieves Vazquez

Water For People

Mahtaab Bagherzadeh

NWF/Clean Water for All

Danielle Rivera

University of California Berkeley

Maisah Khan

Regenerative Agriculture Foundation

Paula Buchanan

National Center for Domestic Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School

Angela Mooney D’Arcy

Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples

Elizabeth Ruiz

CA State Water Resources Control Board

Cate Mingoya-LaFortune

Groundwork USA

Briana Muñoz

Pacific Coast Carbon LLC

Maritza Mendoza

Empower DC

Afia Zakiya

Independent Africana Studies and EJ scholar-activist, currently Executive Director of Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation

Ed Marin

Louisville Water

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Hayat Rasul

LA County

Nathaniel I Kollie

University of California Santa Cruz

Pedro Hernandez

GreenLatinos

Pita Juarez

Comms Consultant

Shandin Pete

University of British Columbia

Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)

Sydney Garcia

The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Angela M Chalk

Healthy Community Resources Services

Chauncey Foster

we.grow.eco

Esteban Ortiz

The Gorge Association of Aspirations/La Asociacion de Aspiraciones del Gorge

Jessica Dandridge-Smith

The Water Collaborative

Rachele Lopez

Justice Outside

Thea Louis

MSC Industrial Supply Co.

Berhanu Sinshaw

University of California Merced

Ciara Horne

SBG Digital

Monica Driggers

Massachusetts Rivers Alliance

Emily Warren Armitano

Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

José M. Rodríguez-Flores

California State University, Monterey Bay

Alex Ortiz

Austin Water and Wastewater Commission

Sri Vedachalam

Cisolutions

Vinicius Taguchi

North Carolina State University

Kabir Thatte

The Vessel Collective

Adriana Renteria

State Water Board

Ngodoo Atume

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Breanna Gonzalez

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Joaquin Esquivel

California State Water Resources Control Board

Sarah Traore

The University of Texas at Austin

Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš

Azul

Vicky Espinoza

CaliWaterAg

Ehab Meselhe

Tulane University

Dezaraye Bagalayos

Allensworth Progressive Association

Analise Rivero

California Trout

Alondra Hernandez-Bose

WEAT

Emma Robbins

The Chapter House

Bleu Adams

IndigeHub

Daniel Cordalis

Native American Rights Fund

Lucero Sanchez

San Diego Coastkeeper

Huda Alkaff

Wisconsin Green Muslims

Crystal Davis

National Parks Conservation Association

Nasim Pica

WSP in the U.S.

Nataly Escobedo Garcia

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Sandi Matsumoto

The Nature Conservancy

Alyssa Senturk

California Water Data Consortium

Bre’Shaun Reddick

Alliance for the Great Lakes

Patricia Lindsay-Harvey

Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority

Marccus Hendricks

University of Maryland - College Park

Bridget Ray

Washington State Department of Commerce

Chriscilia Cox

SUMA Consulting LLC

Sapna Mulki

Environmental Policy Innovation Center

Heather Tanana

University of Denver Sturm College of Law

André Sanchez

California Wilderness Coalition

Andrian Lee

BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC

Olga Morales

Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated

Nicole Chavas

Greenprint Partners

Julia Fay Bernal

Pueblo Action Alliance

Cheyenne Holliday

Verde

Kedar Dabhadkar

Lam Research

Nadine Robertson

Veolia North America

Damian Shapes Padilla

Spirit Rock Consulting

Xochitl Bervera

Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters

Carolan Sonderegger

For Love of Water

Jaiden Willeto

Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop

Julian Gonzalez

Earthjustice

Newsha Ajami

Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Veronica Garibay

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Khalid Osman

Stanford University

Victor Galvan

Denver Mayor's Office for Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience

Cate Caldwell

Illinois Environmental Council

Nahal G. Ipakchi

BluePoint Planning

Silvia R. Gonzalez

UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute

Gia Moreno

Hood Community Council

Nureen Faiza Anisha

Oregon State University

Benu Amun Ra

S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center

Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Nikki Tulley

University of Arizona

Keiko Wilkins

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Val Schull

GreenLatinos

Sanjiv Sinha

Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.

Pallavi Bharadwaj

SEG

Pablo Ortiz

Union of Concerned Scientists

Carlos Moran

Northeast Trees

Michael Méndez

UC Irvine

Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes

GreenLatinos

Andrea León-Grossmann

Susana De Anda

Community Water Center

Portia Shepherd

Blackbelt Women Rising

Jeremy Orr

Earthjustice

Guadalupe Fernandez

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Talia London

The Common Acre

Rene Henery

Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno

Tiffany Sevilla

Greenprint Partners

Tony Bridges

The Maryland General Assembly

Shama Perveen

Ceres

John Echohawk

Native American Rights Fund

Jazmin Ricks

University of Pennsylvania

Walt Walker

TYLin

Maria Elena Kennedy

Kennedy Communications, Inc

Carlos Calderon

West Michigan Environmental Action Council

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Jessica Thrasher

Colorado State University

Allen Townsend

World Wildlife Fund

trending topics

These are the top topics that reporters, decision makers, and partners are looking for experts to speak about.

Video Library

Watch water experts share their stories and perspectives with reporters, event audiences, podcast hosts, and more.

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.

explore the Color of Water directory

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?

Update your color of water profile.

Can’t access your email?  Get in touch with us!

Are you a journalist?

Download the directory and opt-in to get pitches featuring Color of Water stories.

What are Color of Water members talking about?