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

California’s push to limit groundwater pumping could leave small farmers in the dust – Los Angeles Times
According to a new report, California groundwater regulations threaten to put many small farms out of business. [from Los Angeles Times]

A simple idea to bring clean drinking water to U.S. homes at a lower cost – Sustainability Accelerator
[from Sustainability Accelerator]

New federal law could bring running water to tribal homes, but states have concerns – NPR
More than 10,000 homes on Southwestern Indian reservations lack running water. This despite tribes substantial water rights. A new solution is being held up as