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