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