Color Of Water

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

Ashwin Dhanasekar

Brown and Caldwell

Charming Evelyn

OceanWell Water

Jeremy Orr

Earthjustice

Olga Morales

Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated

Emma Robbins

The Chapter House

Oday Salim

University of Michigan Law School

Jo Banner

The Descendants Project

Ani Jayakaran

Washington State University

Nicole Chavas

Greenprint Partners

Chriscilia Cox

SUMA Consulting LLC

Lenise Marrero

Brown and Caldwell

Ruthie Redmond

UC Berkeley

Monica Driggers

Massachusetts Rivers Alliance

Allen Townsend

World Wildlife Fund

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Victor Galvan

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

Breanna Gonzalez

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Ean Tafoya

GreenLatinos

Ciara Horne

SBG Digital

Maisah Khan

Regenerative Agriculture Foundation

Adriana Renteria

State Water Board

Kabir Thatte

The Vessel Collective

Crystal Davis

National Parks Conservation Association

Sidney Opiyo

University of California, Santa Cruz

Xochitl Bervera

Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters

Harshini Ratnayaka

Save the Dunes

Nahal G. Ipakchi

BluePoint Planning

Temiloluwa Akinyemi

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Nicole Nelson

Equity Legal Services, Inc

Sanjiv Sinha

Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.

Vicky Espinoza

CaliWaterAg

Carlos Calderon

West Michigan Environmental Action Council

Joaquin Esquivel

California State Water Resources Control Board

Bleu Adams

IndigeHub

Crystal Sanders-Alvarado

Seaworthy

Gia Moreno

Hood Community Council

Quentin Stubbs

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Maritza Mendoza

Empower DC

Sydney Garcia

The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Angela Mooney D’Arcy

Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples

Mallika Nocco

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Carolan Sonderegger

For Love of Water

Olga Cano

HUD

Veronica Garibay

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George

Ferris Institute

Sarah Traore

The University of Texas at Austin

Bridget Ray

Washington State Department of Commerce

Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Rhysea Agrawal

The Xylom

Dira Johanif

Charles River Climate Compact

Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš

Azul

Cyatharine Alias

Center for Neighborhood Technology

Mahtaab Bagherzadeh

NWF/Clean Water for All

Shama Perveen

Ceres

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Emily Warren Armitano

Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Jazmin Ricks

University of Pennsylvania

Paula Buchanan

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

Ehab Meselhe

Tulane University

Andrian Lee

BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC

Jessica Thrasher

Colorado State University

Esteban Ortiz

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

Pablo Ortiz

Union of Concerned Scientists

Julia Fay Bernal

Pueblo Action Alliance

Thea Louis

MSC Industrial Supply Co.

Daniela Sherrill

ASU / AZ Water for All

Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes

GreenLatinos

Susana De Anda

Community Water Center

Arohi Sharma

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Ed Marin

Louisville Water

Roland Jones

CIS

Joy Banner

The Descendants Project

Andrea León-Grossmann

Vote Solar

Brenda Coley

Milwaukee Water Commons

Chauncey Foster

we.grow.eco

Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)

Jacob Bernal

American Rivers

Nathaniel I Kollie

University of California Santa Cruz

Val Schull

GreenLatinos

Sandi Matsumoto

The Nature Conservancy

Daniel Cordalis

Native American Rights Fund

Shandin Pete

University of British Columbia

Julian Gonzalez

Earthjustice

Dezaraye Bagalayos

Allensworth Progressive Association

Afia Zakiya

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

Carlos Moran

Northeast Trees

Kimbaya Carriere

Nuxalk First Nation

Huda Alkaff

Wisconsin Green Muslims

Portia Shepherd

Blackbelt Women Rising

Sonali Abraham

Pacific Institute

Nusrat Molla

Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University

Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz

Greenroots Institute

Frank Ruiz

The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz

Jessica Dandridge-Smith

The Water Collaborative

Elizabeth Ruiz

CA State Water Resources Control Board

Cindy Donis

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice

Tiffany Sevilla

Greenprint Partners

Direlle Calica

Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)

Oluwole (OJ) McFoy

Houston Public Works

Marc Oliver Quijano

Jacobs

Priscila Alves

University of Maryland

Parsa Saffarinia

University of California, Davis

Sri Vedachalam

Cisolutions

Kedar Dabhadkar

Lam Research

Damian Shapes Padilla

Spirit Rock Consulting

Alai Reyes-Santos

Alaí Community Consulting

Moisés Moreno-Rivera

Trust for Public Land

Martin Griffin

Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District

Alex Ortiz

Austin Water and Wastewater Commission

Guadalupe Fernandez

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Michael Méndez

UC Irvine

Heather Tanana

University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Jasmine Walker

Ohio Environmental Council

Felice Green

Milwaukee Water Commons

Cheyenne Holliday

Verde

Patricia Lindsay-Harvey

Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority

Tanner Yess

Groundwork USA

Briana Muñoz

Pacific Coast Carbon LLC

Jaiden Willeto

Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop

Pallavi Bharadwaj

SEG

Alastair Bitsóí

Near the Water Media & Communications Group

Alondra Hernandez-Bose

WEAT

Charles Cassagnol

Western Ecology, LLC

Pedro Hernandez

GreenLatinos

Beth Roach

Sierra Club

Talia London

The Common Acre

Tanasia Swift

Billion Oyster Project

John Echohawk

Native American Rights Fund

Nieves Vazquez

Water For People

Alyssa Senturk

California Water Data Consortium

José M. Rodríguez-Flores

California State University, Monterey Bay

Silvia R. Gonzalez

UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute

Khalid Osman

Stanford University

Billie Li

Wright-Pierce

Tony Bridges

The Maryland General Assembly

Analise Rivero

California Trout

Usman Mahmood

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Diana Piña Yitbarek

NC Department of Environmental Quality

Marccus Hendricks

University of Maryland - College Park

Angela M Chalk

Healthy Community Resources Services

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Benu Amun Ra

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

Rob Larson

Grand Valley State University

Newsha Ajami

Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Fernando Ramirez

Bridges 2023 International

Cheyanne Harris

Brown and Caldwell

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Aria Harris

TYLin

Pita Juarez

Comms Consultant

Nasim Pica

WSP in the U.S.

Rhea Drozdenko

Connecticut River Conservancy

Vinicius Taguchi

North Carolina State University

André Sanchez

California Wilderness Coalition

Nataly Escobedo Garcia

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Bre’Shaun Reddick

Alliance for the Great Lakes

Cate Mingoya-LaFortune

Groundwork USA

Rene Henery

Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno

Ayako Tischler

Xylem

Cathie Chavez-Morris

Equidad Group

Nureen Faiza Anisha

Oregon State University

Maria Elena Kennedy

Kennedy Communications, Inc

Sapna Mulki

Environmental Policy Innovation Center

Keiko Wilkins

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Danielle Rivera

University of California Berkeley

Lucero Sanchez

San Diego Coastkeeper

Walt Walker

TYLin

Nikki Tulley

University of Arizona

Nadine Robertson

Veolia North America

Rachele Lopez

Justice Outside

Arsum Pathak

National Wildlife Federation

Ngodoo Atume

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Cate Caldwell

Illinois Environmental Council

Angela Guyadeen

NRDC

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?