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

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