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