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