Color Of Water
Elevating Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other voices of color to change the narrative around water.
Dezaraye Bagalayos
Allensworth Progressive Association
Ngodoo Atume
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
Fernando Ramirez
Bridges 2023 International
Harshini Ratnayaka
Save the Dunes
Lenise Marrero
Brown and Caldwell
Jahan Taganova
City and County of Denver
Adriana Renteria
State Water Board
Nasim Pica
WSP in the U.S.
Carolan Sonderegger
For Love of Water
Briana Muñoz
Pacific Coast Carbon LLC
Xochitl Bervera
Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters
Nadine Robertson
Veolia North America
Gia Moreno
Hood Community Council
Crystal Sanders-Alvarado
Seaworthy
John Echohawk
Native American Rights Fund
Khalid Osman
Stanford University
Sandi Matsumoto
The Nature Conservancy
Tanasia Swift
Billion Oyster Project
Patricia Lindsay-Harvey
Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority
Pita Juarez
Comms Consultant
Pablo Ortiz
Union of Concerned Scientists
Vicky Espinoza
CaliWaterAg
Andrea León-Grossmann
Dira Johanif
Charles River Climate Compact
Julia Fay Bernal
Pueblo Action Alliance
Tony Bridges
The Maryland General Assembly
Kimbaya Carriere
Nuxalk First Nation
Sri Vedachalam
Cisolutions
Talia London
The Common Acre
Kedar Dabhadkar
Lam Research
Cathie Chavez-Morris
Equidad Group
José M. Rodríguez-Flores
California State University, Monterey Bay
Breanna Gonzalez
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Roland Jones
CIS
Cheyanne Harris
Brown and Caldwell
Quentin Stubbs
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Aria Harris
TYLin
Tanner Yess
Groundwork USA
Alastair Bitsóí
Near the Water Media & Communications Group
Marc Oliver Quijano
Jacobs
Carlos Calderon
West Michigan Environmental Action Council
Thea Louis
MSC Industrial Supply Co.
Bre’Shaun Reddick
Alliance for the Great Lakes
Sydney Garcia
The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Victor Galvan
Denver Mayor's Office for Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience
Elizabeth Ruiz
CA State Water Resources Control Board
Joaquin Esquivel
California State Water Resources Control Board
Crystal Davis
National Parks Conservation Association
Bleu Adams
IndigeHub
Rene Henery
Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno
Susana De Anda
Community Water Center
Sanjiv Sinha
Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.
Danielle Rivera
University of California Berkeley
Andrian Lee
BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC
Shandin Pete
University of British Columbia
Jessica Dandridge-Smith
The Water Collaborative
Cyatharine Alias
Center for Neighborhood Technology
Hayat Rasul
LA County
Walt Walker
TYLin
Maisah Khan
Regenerative Agriculture Foundation
Charming Evelyn
OceanWell Water
Moisés Moreno-Rivera
Trust for Public Land
Rhysea Agrawal
The Xylom
Monica Driggers
Massachusetts Rivers Alliance
Diana Piña Yitbarek
NC Department of Environmental Quality
Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George
Ferris Institute
Emily Warren Armitano
Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation
Ean Tafoya
GreenLatinos
Ayako Tischler
Xylem
Sapna Mulki
Environmental Policy Innovation Center
Felice Green
Milwaukee Water Commons
Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes
GreenLatinos
Frank Ruiz
The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz
Nikki Tulley
University of Arizona
Nicole Nelson
Equity Legal Services, Inc
Ehab Meselhe
Tulane University
Silvia R. Gonzalez
UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute
Jessica Thrasher
Colorado State University
Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
Nathaniel I Kollie
University of California Santa Cruz
André Sanchez
California Wilderness Coalition
Chakena Sims
NRDC
Veronica Garibay
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz
Greenroots Institute
Rhea Drozdenko
Connecticut River Conservancy
Angela Guyadeen
NRDC
Nicole Chavas
Greenprint Partners
Chriscilia Cox
SUMA Consulting LLC
Lucero Sanchez
San Diego Coastkeeper
Martin Griffin
Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District
Kabir Thatte
The Vessel Collective
Carlos Moran
Northeast Trees
Sidney Opiyo
University of California, Santa Cruz
Sarah Traore
The University of Texas at Austin
Nahal G. Ipakchi
BluePoint Planning
Cheyenne Holliday
Verde
Nureen Faiza Anisha
Oregon State University
Damian Shapes Padilla
Spirit Rock Consulting
Joy Banner
The Descendants Project
Paula Buchanan
National Center for Domestic Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School
Chakena Sims
NRDC
Angela M Chalk
Healthy Community Resources Services
Jacob Bernal
American Rivers
Michael Méndez
UC Irvine
Berhanu Sinshaw
University of California Merced
Oluwole (OJ) McFoy
Houston Public Works
Bridget Ray
Washington State Department of Commerce
Jazmin Ricks
University of Pennsylvania
Ciara Horne
SBG Digital
Allen Townsend
World Wildlife Fund
Val Schull
GreenLatinos
Jasmine Walker
Ohio Environmental Council
Nataly Escobedo Garcia
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability
Marccus Hendricks
University of Maryland - College Park
Direlle Calica
Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)
Parsa Saffarinia
University of California, Davis
Alondra Hernandez-Bose
WEAT
Guadalupe Fernandez
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Newsha Ajami
Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Jaiden Willeto
Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop
Benu Amun Ra
S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center
Olga Cano
HUD
Julian Gonzalez
Earthjustice
Angela Mooney D’Arcy
Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples
Alai Reyes-Santos
Alaí Community Consulting
Oday Salim
University of Michigan Law School
Beth Roach
Sierra Club
Cate Mingoya-LaFortune
Groundwork USA
Chauncey Foster
we.grow.eco
Mallika Nocco
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Daniel Cordalis
Native American Rights Fund
Ruthie Redmond
UC Berkeley
Ani Jayakaran
Washington State University
Nieves Vazquez
Water For People
Emma Robbins
The Chapter House
Jahan Taganova
City and County of Denver
Portia Shepherd
Blackbelt Women Rising
Maria Elena Kennedy
Kennedy Communications, Inc
Analise Rivero
California Trout
Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Mahtaab Bagherzadeh
NWF/Clean Water for All
Keiko Wilkins
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Jeremy Orr
Earthjustice
Usman Mahmood
Bayou City Waterkeeper
Pallavi Bharadwaj
SEG
Alyssa Senturk
California Water Data Consortium
Heather Tanana
University of Denver Sturm College of Law
Tiffany Sevilla
Greenprint Partners
Rob Larson
Grand Valley State University
Ashwin Dhanasekar
Brown and Caldwell
Maritza Mendoza
Empower DC
Ed Marin
Louisville Water
Billie Li
Wright-Pierce
Huda Alkaff
Wisconsin Green Muslims
Alex Ortiz
Austin Water and Wastewater Commission
Priscila Alves
University of Maryland
Kimbaya Carriere
Nuxalk First Nation
Esteban Ortiz
The Gorge Association of Aspirations/La Asociacion de Aspiraciones del Gorge
Daniela Sherrill
ASU / AZ Water for All
Pedro Hernandez
GreenLatinos
Temiloluwa Akinyemi
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Cate Caldwell
Illinois Environmental Council
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš
Azul
Arsum Pathak
National Wildlife Federation
Olga Morales
Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated
Sonali Abraham
Pacific Institute
Vinicius Taguchi
North Carolina State University
Nusrat Molla
Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University
Cindy Donis
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
Arohi Sharma
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Charles Cassagnol
Western Ecology, LLC
Afia Zakiya
Independent Africana Studies and EJ scholar-activist, currently Executive Director of Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation
Rachele Lopez
Justice Outside
Shama Perveen
Ceres
Jo Banner
The Descendants Project
trending topics
These are the top topics that reporters, decision makers, and partners are looking for experts to speak about.
Video Library
Watch water experts share their stories and perspectives with reporters, event audiences, podcast hosts, and more.
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!
Are you a current member?
Can’t access your email? Get in touch with us!
Are you a journalist?
Download the directory and opt-in to get pitches featuring Color of Water stories.
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