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

VOICES: Protecting what we love in the age of AI – Planet Detroit
The director of Michigan Green Muslims offers a faith-based perspective on why Great Lakes communities are pushing back against data centers. [from Planet Detroit]

How more than 240 million gallons of sewage flowed into the Potomac River – NPR
NPR's Erika Ryan reports from the site of one of the nation's largest sewage spills ever — just outside of Washington, D.C. — in January.

Nearly half of L.A. County’s pavement may be unnecessary, new map finds – Los Angeles Times
Researchers have released the first parcel-level analysis to map all paved surfaces across L.A. County. In particular, large parking lots are ripe for change, they