Color Of Water

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

Andrea León-Grossmann

Vote Solar

Sarah Traore

The University of Texas at Austin

Veronica Garibay

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Crystal Davis

National Parks Conservation Association

Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)

Nureen Faiza Anisha

Oregon State University

Felice Green

Milwaukee Water Commons

Quentin Stubbs

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Tanner Yess

Groundwork USA

Moisés Moreno-Rivera

Trust for Public Land

Esteban Ortiz

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

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Ean Tafoya

GreenLatinos

Beth Roach

Sierra Club

Daniel Cordalis

Native American Rights Fund

Bre’Shaun Reddick

Alliance for the Great Lakes

Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George

Ferris Institute

Sapna Mulki

Environmental Policy Innovation Center

Tiffany Sevilla

Greenprint Partners

Nasim Pica

WSP in the U.S.

Rob Larson

Grand Valley State University

Damian Shapes Padilla

Spirit Rock Consulting

Ngodoo Atume

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Nikki Tulley

University of Arizona

Sydney Garcia

The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Harshini Ratnayaka

Save the Dunes

Maisah Khan

Regenerative Agriculture Foundation

Charming Evelyn

OceanWell Water

Bridget Ray

Washington State Department of Commerce

Direlle Calica

Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)

Thea Louis

MSC Industrial Supply Co.

José M. Rodríguez-Flores

California State University, Monterey Bay

Mallika Nocco

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Khalid Osman

Stanford University

Jo Banner

The Descendants Project

Ed Marin

Louisville Water

Angela M Chalk

Healthy Community Resources Services

Heather Tanana

University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Carlos Moran

Northeast Trees

Nathaniel I Kollie

University of California Santa Cruz

Chauncey Foster

we.grow.eco

Val Schull

GreenLatinos

Olga Cano

HUD

Alex Ortiz

Austin Water and Wastewater Commission

Rhea Drozdenko

Connecticut River Conservancy

Sandi Matsumoto

The Nature Conservancy

Afia Zakiya

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

Ayako Tischler

Xylem

Allen Townsend

World Wildlife Fund

Lucero Sanchez

San Diego Coastkeeper

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Jazmin Ricks

University of Pennsylvania

Cate Mingoya-LaFortune

Groundwork USA

Julian Gonzalez

Earthjustice

Kabir Thatte

The Vessel Collective

Parsa Saffarinia

University of California, Davis

Bleu Adams

IndigeHub

Elizabeth Ruiz

CA State Water Resources Control Board

Cindy Donis

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice

Dira Johanif

Charles River Climate Compact

Jessica Dandridge-Smith

The Water Collaborative

Priscila Alves

University of Maryland

Olga Morales

Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated

Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Nicole Chavas

Greenprint Partners

Danielle Rivera

University of California Berkeley

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Usman Mahmood

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Guadalupe Fernandez

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Gia Moreno

Hood Community Council

Rene Henery

Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno

Pablo Ortiz

Union of Concerned Scientists

Nahal G. Ipakchi

BluePoint Planning

Michael Méndez

UC Irvine

Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes

GreenLatinos

Sidney Opiyo

University of California, Santa Cruz

Angela Guyadeen

NRDC

Jessica Thrasher

Colorado State University

Oluwole (OJ) McFoy

Houston Public Works

Temiloluwa Akinyemi

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Angela Mooney D’Arcy

Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples

Xochitl Bervera

Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters

Nicole Nelson

Equity Legal Services, Inc

Pita Juarez

Comms Consultant

Ciara Horne

SBG Digital

Nataly Escobedo Garcia

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Carlos Calderon

West Michigan Environmental Action Council

Maritza Mendoza

Empower DC

Mahtaab Bagherzadeh

NWF/Clean Water for All

Ani Jayakaran

Washington State University

Kedar Dabhadkar

Lam Research

Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš

Azul

Ashwin Dhanasekar

Brown and Caldwell

John Echohawk

Native American Rights Fund

Lenise Marrero

Brown and Caldwell

Silvia R. Gonzalez

UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute

Carolan Sonderegger

For Love of Water

Andrian Lee

BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC

Arohi Sharma

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Cheyanne Harris

Brown and Caldwell

Breanna Gonzalez

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Cyatharine Alias

Center for Neighborhood Technology

Portia Shepherd

Blackbelt Women Rising

Frank Ruiz

The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz

Fernando Ramirez

Bridges 2023 International

Rachele Lopez

Justice Outside

Alai Reyes-Santos

Alaí Community Consulting

Shama Perveen

Ceres

Julia Fay Bernal

Pueblo Action Alliance

Maria Elena Kennedy

Kennedy Communications, Inc

Diana Piña Yitbarek

NC Department of Environmental Quality

Berhanu Sinshaw

University of California Merced

Walt Walker

TYLin

Chriscilia Cox

SUMA Consulting LLC

Crystal Sanders-Alvarado

Seaworthy

Tanasia Swift

Billion Oyster Project

Aria Harris

TYLin

André Sanchez

California Wilderness Coalition

Jaiden Willeto

Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop

Newsha Ajami

Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Sonali Abraham

Pacific Institute

Rhysea Agrawal

The Xylom

Shandin Pete

University of British Columbia

Susana De Anda

Community Water Center

Kimbaya Carriere

Nuxalk First Nation

Marc Oliver Quijano

Jacobs

Dezaraye Bagalayos

Allensworth Progressive Association

Adriana Renteria

State Water Board

Alondra Hernandez-Bose

WEAT

Billie Li

Wright-Pierce

Charles Cassagnol

Western Ecology, LLC

Jeremy Orr

Earthjustice

Daniela Sherrill

ASU / AZ Water for All

Cheyenne Holliday

Verde

Roland Jones

CIS

Nusrat Molla

Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University

Sri Vedachalam

Cisolutions

Hayat Rasul

LA County

Pedro Hernandez

GreenLatinos

Marccus Hendricks

University of Maryland - College Park

Ruthie Redmond

UC Berkeley

Jacob Bernal

American Rivers

Vinicius Taguchi

North Carolina State University

Cathie Chavez-Morris

Equidad Group

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Keiko Wilkins

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Monica Driggers

Massachusetts Rivers Alliance

Tony Bridges

The Maryland General Assembly

Talia London

The Common Acre

Vicky Espinoza

CaliWaterAg

Pallavi Bharadwaj

SEG

Victor Galvan

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

Emily Warren Armitano

Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Martin Griffin

Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District

Nadine Robertson

Veolia North America

Emma Robbins

The Chapter House

Analise Rivero

California Trout

Huda Alkaff

Wisconsin Green Muslims

Alastair Bitsóí

Near the Water Media & Communications Group

Paula Buchanan

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

Patricia Lindsay-Harvey

Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority

Joaquin Esquivel

California State Water Resources Control Board

Ehab Meselhe

Tulane University

Cate Caldwell

Illinois Environmental Council

Jasmine Walker

Ohio Environmental Council

Nieves Vazquez

Water For People

Joy Banner

The Descendants Project

Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz

Greenroots Institute

Benu Amun Ra

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

Arsum Pathak

National Wildlife Federation

Alyssa Senturk

California Water Data Consortium

Briana Muñoz

Pacific Coast Carbon LLC

Brenda Coley

Milwaukee Water Commons

Sanjiv Sinha

Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.

Oday Salim

University of Michigan Law School

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?