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