Color Of Water

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

Rob Larson

Grand Valley State University

Jaiden Willeto

Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop

Ruthie Redmond

UC Berkeley

Angela Mooney D’Arcy

Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples

Frank Ruiz

The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz

Chriscilia Cox

SUMA Consulting LLC

Jessica Thrasher

Colorado State University

Damian Shapes Padilla

Spirit Rock Consulting

Nataly Escobedo Garcia

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Berhanu Sinshaw

University of California Merced

Brenda Coley

Milwaukee Water Commons

Fernando Ramirez

Bridges 2023 International

Huda Alkaff

Wisconsin Green Muslims

André Sanchez

California Wilderness Coalition

Ngodoo Atume

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Sri Vedachalam

Cisolutions

Briana Muñoz

Pacific Coast Carbon LLC

Kedar Dabhadkar

Lam Research

Carlos Moran

Northeast Trees

Nasim Pica

WSP in the U.S.

Arohi Sharma

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Pedro Hernandez

GreenLatinos

Harshini Ratnayaka

Save the Dunes

Jacob Bernal

American Rivers

Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš

Azul

Alex Ortiz

Austin Water and Wastewater Commission

Lucero Sanchez

San Diego Coastkeeper

Elizabeth Ruiz

CA State Water Resources Control Board

Ean Tafoya

GreenLatinos

Quentin Stubbs

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Julian Gonzalez

Earthjustice

Felice Green

Milwaukee Water Commons

Cathie Chavez-Morris

Equidad Group

Bre’Shaun Reddick

Alliance for the Great Lakes

Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes

GreenLatinos

Chauncey Foster

we.grow.eco

Temiloluwa Akinyemi

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Crystal Davis

National Parks Conservation Association

Patricia Lindsay-Harvey

Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority

Sydney Garcia

The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Cyatharine Alias

Center for Neighborhood Technology

Tanasia Swift

Billion Oyster Project

Joaquin Esquivel

California State Water Resources Control Board

Beth Roach

Sierra Club

Bridget Ray

Washington State Department of Commerce

Nureen Faiza Anisha

Oregon State University

Alai Reyes-Santos

Alaí Community Consulting

Olga Morales

Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated

Pallavi Bharadwaj

SEG

Talia London

The Common Acre

Sanjiv Sinha

Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.

Andrian Lee

BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC

Roland Jones

CIS

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Monica Driggers

Massachusetts Rivers Alliance

Mallika Nocco

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Carolan Sonderegger

For Love of Water

Nicole Chavas

Greenprint Partners

Ayako Tischler

Xylem

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Shama Perveen

Ceres

Tanner Yess

Groundwork USA

Shandin Pete

University of British Columbia

Kabir Thatte

The Vessel Collective

Breanna Gonzalez

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Oday Salim

University of Michigan Law School

Parsa Saffarinia

University of California, Davis

Rhea Drozdenko

Connecticut River Conservancy

Danielle Rivera

University of California Berkeley

Olga Cano

HUD

Cindy Donis

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice

José M. Rodríguez-Flores

California State University, Monterey Bay

Cate Caldwell

Illinois Environmental Council

Walt Walker

TYLin

Sapna Mulki

Environmental Policy Innovation Center

Vicky Espinoza

CaliWaterAg

Cheyanne Harris

Brown and Caldwell

Lenise Marrero

Brown and Caldwell

Thea Louis

MSC Industrial Supply Co.

Carlos Calderon

West Michigan Environmental Action Council

Mahtaab Bagherzadeh

NWF/Clean Water for All

Ehab Meselhe

Tulane University

Oluwole (OJ) McFoy

Houston Public Works

Dira Johanif

Charles River Climate Compact

Benu Amun Ra

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

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Ed Marin

Louisville Water

Jazmin Ricks

University of Pennsylvania

Heather Tanana

University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Susana De Anda

Community Water Center

Victor Galvan

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

Direlle Calica

Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)

Khalid Osman

Stanford University

John Echohawk

Native American Rights Fund

Newsha Ajami

Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Jessica Dandridge-Smith

The Water Collaborative

Silvia R. Gonzalez

UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute

Andrea León-Grossmann

Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz

Greenroots Institute

Cheyenne Holliday

Verde

Charles Cassagnol

Western Ecology, LLC

Tiffany Sevilla

Greenprint Partners

Ciara Horne

SBG Digital

Alyssa Senturk

California Water Data Consortium

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Billie Li

Wright-Pierce

Esteban Ortiz

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

Sidney Opiyo

University of California, Santa Cruz

Aria Harris

TYLin

Kimbaya Carriere

Nuxalk First Nation

Nusrat Molla

Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University

Dezaraye Bagalayos

Allensworth Progressive Association

Paula Buchanan

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

Marc Oliver Quijano

Jacobs

Daniel Cordalis

Native American Rights Fund

Angela Guyadeen

NRDC

Michael Méndez

UC Irvine

Rhysea Agrawal

The Xylom

Jo Banner

The Descendants Project

Analise Rivero

California Trout

Pita Juarez

Comms Consultant

Nicole Nelson

Equity Legal Services, Inc

Portia Shepherd

Blackbelt Women Rising

Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Martin Griffin

Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District

Emily Warren Armitano

Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Sarah Traore

The University of Texas at Austin

Bleu Adams

IndigeHub

Maritza Mendoza

Empower DC

Rene Henery

Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno

Arsum Pathak

National Wildlife Federation

Maisah Khan

Regenerative Agriculture Foundation

Pablo Ortiz

Union of Concerned Scientists

Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)

Gia Moreno

Hood Community Council

Priscila Alves

University of Maryland

Veronica Garibay

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Diana Piña Yitbarek

NC Department of Environmental Quality

Julia Fay Bernal

Pueblo Action Alliance

Angela M Chalk

Healthy Community Resources Services

Charming Evelyn

OceanWell Water

Afia Zakiya

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

Maria Elena Kennedy

Kennedy Communications, Inc

Val Schull

GreenLatinos

Jasmine Walker

Ohio Environmental Council

Nieves Vazquez

Water For People

Cate Mingoya-LaFortune

Groundwork USA

Adriana Renteria

State Water Board

Vinicius Taguchi

North Carolina State University

Rachele Lopez

Justice Outside

Ashwin Dhanasekar

Brown and Caldwell

Sandi Matsumoto

The Nature Conservancy

Nahal G. Ipakchi

BluePoint Planning

Keiko Wilkins

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Nathaniel I Kollie

University of California Santa Cruz

Nikki Tulley

University of Arizona

Allen Townsend

World Wildlife Fund

Marccus Hendricks

University of Maryland - College Park

Xochitl Bervera

Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters

Usman Mahmood

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Moisés Moreno-Rivera

Trust for Public Land

Nadine Robertson

Veolia North America

Crystal Sanders-Alvarado

Seaworthy

Guadalupe Fernandez

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Emma Robbins

The Chapter House

Joy Banner

The Descendants Project

Ani Jayakaran

Washington State University

Alondra Hernandez-Bose

WEAT

Jeremy Orr

Earthjustice

Alastair Bitsóí

Near the Water Media & Communications Group

Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George

Ferris Institute

Tony Bridges

The Maryland General Assembly

Sonali Abraham

Pacific Institute

Hayat Rasul

LA County

Daniela Sherrill

ASU / AZ Water for All

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?