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