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