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

Day laborers face hardships in the aftermath of Altadena fire, study reveals – CaloNews.com
A new report shows that many day laborers who worked in debris cleanup and recovery after the January 2025 wildfire in Altadena often worked through

American data centers in just seven states are reportedly using more water than all the cities in California – TechRadar
Data centers in seven states consume 10.4 million acre-feet of water [from TechRadar]

The Great Mayfly Swarms of Lake Erie – National Parks Conservation Association
Summer mayflies along Lake Erie’s coastline may be nasty and annoying, but they share glad tidings about environmental recovery. NPCA played a role. [from National