Color Of Water
Elevating Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other voices of color to change the narrative around water.
Danielle Rivera
University of California Berkeley
Aria Harris
TYLin
Tony Bridges
The Maryland General Assembly
Newsha Ajami
Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Sapna Mulki
Environmental Policy Innovation Center
Ashwin Dhanasekar
Brown and Caldwell
Nadine Robertson
Veolia North America
Jazmin Ricks
University of Pennsylvania
Felice Green
Milwaukee Water Commons
Ngodoo Atume
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
Ayako Tischler
Xylem
Cate Caldwell
Illinois Environmental Council
Pita Juarez
Comms Consultant
Frank Ruiz
The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz
Analise Rivero
California Trout
Marc Oliver Quijano
Jacobs
Daniel Cordalis
Native American Rights Fund
Brenda Coley
Milwaukee Water Commons
Kabir Thatte
The Vessel Collective
Bre’Shaun Reddick
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Nataly Escobedo Garcia
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George
Ferris Institute
Usman Mahmood
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Chriscilia Cox
SUMA Consulting LLC
Nasim Pica
WSP in the U.S.
Sarah Traore
The University of Texas at Austin
Mahtaab Bagherzadeh
NWF/Clean Water for All
Patricia Lindsay-Harvey
Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority
Sonali Abraham
Pacific Institute
Arsum Pathak
National Wildlife Federation
Elizabeth Ruiz
CA State Water Resources Control Board
Pallavi Bharadwaj
SEG
Olga Morales
Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated
Alondra Hernandez-Bose
WEAT
Nicole Nelson
Equity Legal Services, Inc
Hayat Rasul
LA County
Nicole Chavas
Greenprint Partners
Heather Tanana
University of Denver Sturm College of Law
Bleu Adams
IndigeHub
Rob Larson
Grand Valley State University
Rachele Lopez
Justice Outside
Oluwole (OJ) McFoy
Houston Public Works
Nahal G. Ipakchi
BluePoint Planning
Rene Henery
Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno
Ruthie Redmond
UC Berkeley
Berhanu Sinshaw
University of California Merced
Shama Perveen
Ceres
Nathaniel I Kollie
University of California Santa Cruz
Monica Driggers
Massachusetts Rivers Alliance
Sri Vedachalam
Cisolutions
Ciara Horne
SBG Digital
Quentin Stubbs
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš
Azul
Allen Townsend
World Wildlife Fund
Tiffany Sevilla
Greenprint Partners
Lucero Sanchez
San Diego Coastkeeper
Thea Louis
MSC Industrial Supply Co.
Dezaraye Bagalayos
Allensworth Progressive Association
Cheyanne Harris
Brown and Caldwell
Marccus Hendricks
University of Maryland - College Park
Cathie Chavez-Morris
Equidad Group
Julian Gonzalez
Earthjustice
Benu Amun Ra
S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center
Nieves Vazquez
Water For People
Veronica Garibay
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Adriana Renteria
State Water Board
Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes
GreenLatinos
Breanna Gonzalez
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Mallika Nocco
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Pablo Ortiz
Union of Concerned Scientists
Alex Ortiz
Austin Water and Wastewater Commission
Chakena Sims
NRDC
Angela Guyadeen
NRDC
Sydney Garcia
The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Portia Shepherd
Blackbelt Women Rising
Tanner Yess
Groundwork USA
Sanjiv Sinha
Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.
Parsa Saffarinia
University of California, Davis
Gia Moreno
Hood Community Council
Jahan Taganova
City and County of Denver
Nusrat Molla
Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University
Carlos Moran
Northeast Trees
Joy Banner
The Descendants Project
Olga Cano
HUD
Crystal Sanders-Alvarado
Seaworthy
Emma Robbins
The Chapter House
Charles Cassagnol
Western Ecology, LLC
Huda Alkaff
Wisconsin Green Muslims
Alyssa Senturk
California Water Data Consortium
Fernando Ramirez
Bridges 2023 International
Khalid Osman
Stanford University
Michael Méndez
UC Irvine
Afia Zakiya
Independent Africana Studies and EJ scholar-activist, currently Executive Director of Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation
Angela M Chalk
Healthy Community Resources Services
Diana Piña Yitbarek
NC Department of Environmental Quality
Keiko Wilkins
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Rhysea Agrawal
The Xylom
Shandin Pete
University of British Columbia
Martin Griffin
Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
Priscila Alves
University of Maryland
Daniela Sherrill
ASU / AZ Water for All
Carolan Sonderegger
For Love of Water
José M. Rodríguez-Flores
California State University, Monterey Bay
Arohi Sharma
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Xochitl Bervera
Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters
Vinicius Taguchi
North Carolina State University
Jo Banner
The Descendants Project
Jessica Thrasher
Colorado State University
Cyatharine Alias
Center for Neighborhood Technology
Guadalupe Fernandez
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Jaiden Willeto
Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop
Jacob Bernal
American Rivers
Alastair Bitsóí
Near the Water Media & Communications Group
Damian Shapes Padilla
Spirit Rock Consulting
John Echohawk
Native American Rights Fund
Maria Elena Kennedy
Kennedy Communications, Inc
Val Schull
GreenLatinos
Sandi Matsumoto
The Nature Conservancy
Billie Li
Wright-Pierce
Cindy Donis
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
André Sanchez
California Wilderness Coalition
Sidney Opiyo
University of California, Santa Cruz
Vicky Espinoza
CaliWaterAg
Cheyenne Holliday
Verde
Maritza Mendoza
Empower DC
Talia London
The Common Acre
Kedar Dabhadkar
Lam Research
Victor Galvan
Denver Mayor's Office for Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience
Jahan Taganova
City and County of Denver
Alai Reyes-Santos
Alaí Community Consulting
Andrian Lee
BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC
Charming Evelyn
OceanWell Water
Oday Salim
University of Michigan Law School
Temiloluwa Akinyemi
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Julia Fay Bernal
Pueblo Action Alliance
Ean Tafoya
GreenLatinos
Rhea Drozdenko
Connecticut River Conservancy
Joaquin Esquivel
California State Water Resources Control Board
Direlle Calica
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)
Chauncey Foster
we.grow.eco
Roland Jones
CIS
Paula Buchanan
National Center for Domestic Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School
Jasmine Walker
Ohio Environmental Council
Ehab Meselhe
Tulane University
Dira Johanif
Charles River Climate Compact
Tanasia Swift
Billion Oyster Project
Ed Marin
Louisville Water
Andrea León-Grossmann
Vote Solar
Esteban Ortiz
The Gorge Association of Aspirations/La Asociacion de Aspiraciones del Gorge
Ani Jayakaran
Washington State University
Jeremy Orr
Earthjustice
Silvia R. Gonzalez
UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute
Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Walt Walker
TYLin
Briana Muñoz
Pacific Coast Carbon LLC
Chakena Sims
NRDC
Susana De Anda
Community Water Center
Kimbaya Carriere
Nuxalk First Nation
Pedro Hernandez
GreenLatinos
Maisah Khan
Regenerative Agriculture Foundation
Harshini Ratnayaka
Save the Dunes
Bridget Ray
Washington State Department of Commerce
Angela Mooney D’Arcy
Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples
Beth Roach
Sierra Club
Emily Warren Armitano
Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Moisés Moreno-Rivera
Trust for Public Land
Carlos Calderon
West Michigan Environmental Action Council
Jessica Dandridge-Smith
The Water Collaborative
Lenise Marrero
Brown and Caldwell
Nureen Faiza Anisha
Oregon State University
Crystal Davis
National Parks Conservation Association
Nikki Tulley
University of Arizona
Cate Mingoya-LaFortune
Groundwork USA
Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz
Greenroots Institute
trending topics
These are the top topics that reporters, decision makers, and partners are looking for experts to speak about.
Video Library
Watch water experts share their stories and perspectives with reporters, event audiences, podcast hosts, and more.
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!
Are you a current member?
Can’t access your email? Get in touch with us!
Are you a journalist?
Download the directory and opt-in to get pitches featuring Color of Water stories.
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