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