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

California’s push to limit groundwater pumping could leave small farmers in the dust – Los Angeles Times
According to a new report, California groundwater regulations threaten to put many small farms out of business. [from Los Angeles Times]

A simple idea to bring clean drinking water to U.S. homes at a lower cost – Sustainability Accelerator
[from Sustainability Accelerator]

New federal law could bring running water to tribal homes, but states have concerns – NPR
More than 10,000 homes on Southwestern Indian reservations lack running water. This despite tribes substantial water rights. A new solution is being held up as