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