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

AOC holds jar of brown water from next to Meta’s Georgia data center at EPA hearing: Residents ‘rely on bottled water to drink and prepare meals’ – AOL
Neighbors of a massive Meta data center can’t drink their water, and their water bills are set to skyrocket. [from AOL.com]

Environmental justice raised over data centers targeting rural NM – KRWG Public Media
GreenLatinos believes states should approach regulation of artificial intelligence data centers from a mindset of community protection and adopt a high bar for regulation. [from

'Bringing these worlds together' – Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
[from Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability]