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

Day laborers face hardships in the aftermath of Altadena fire, study reveals – CaloNews.com
A new report shows that many day laborers who worked in debris cleanup and recovery after the January 2025 wildfire in Altadena often worked through

American data centers in just seven states are reportedly using more water than all the cities in California – TechRadar
Data centers in seven states consume 10.4 million acre-feet of water [from TechRadar]

The Great Mayfly Swarms of Lake Erie – National Parks Conservation Association
Summer mayflies along Lake Erie’s coastline may be nasty and annoying, but they share glad tidings about environmental recovery. NPCA played a role. [from National