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

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