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

How a Michigan Supreme Court decision on a Line 5 permit might ripple beyond the pipeline – Interlochen Public Radio
Justices vacated a permit for the pipeline, while also issuing a consequential ruling for state environmental reviews on several fronts — including the state’s public

New Park Bench Monitors Offer a Pathway to Air Pollution Solutions – The Washington Informer
The District added four Village Green monitors in May to increase air quality data accessibility for residents in underserved wards. [from The Washington Informer]

New Colorado River plan causes concern and uncertainty for some tribal nations in Arizona – KNAU Arizona Public Radio
The federal framework could result in steep cuts to Arizona’s share of river water. Some Native American communities could be impacted. [from KNAU Arizona Public