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

How a Michigan Supreme Court decision on a Line 5 permit might ripple beyond the pipeline – Interlochen Public Radio
Justices vacated a permit for the pipeline, while also issuing a consequential ruling for state environmental reviews on several fronts — including the state’s public

New Park Bench Monitors Offer a Pathway to Air Pollution Solutions – The Washington Informer
The District added four Village Green monitors in May to increase air quality data accessibility for residents in underserved wards. [from The Washington Informer]

New Colorado River plan causes concern and uncertainty for some tribal nations in Arizona – KNAU Arizona Public Radio
The federal framework could result in steep cuts to Arizona’s share of river water. Some Native American communities could be impacted. [from KNAU Arizona Public