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