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