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