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

How a Michigan Supreme Court decision on a Line 5 permit might ripple beyond the pipeline – Interlochen Public Radio
Justices vacated a permit for the pipeline, while also issuing a consequential ruling for state environmental reviews on several fronts — including the state’s public

New Park Bench Monitors Offer a Pathway to Air Pollution Solutions – The Washington Informer
The District added four Village Green monitors in May to increase air quality data accessibility for residents in underserved wards. [from The Washington Informer]

New Colorado River plan causes concern and uncertainty for some tribal nations in Arizona – KNAU Arizona Public Radio
The federal framework could result in steep cuts to Arizona’s share of river water. Some Native American communities could be impacted. [from KNAU Arizona Public