Color Of Water

Elevating Indigenous, Black, Latinx, and other voices of color to change the narrative around water.

Parsa Saffarinia

University of California, Davis

Heather Tanana

University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Nahal G. Ipakchi

BluePoint Planning

Angela Guyadeen

NRDC

Cheyenne Holliday

Verde

Briana Muñoz

Pacific Coast Carbon LLC

Cyatharine Alias

Center for Neighborhood Technology

Olga Morales Pate

Rural Community Assistance Partnership Incorporated

Arohi Sharma

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

Breanna Gonzalez

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment

Newsha Ajami

Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Nieves Vazquez

Water For People

Priscila Alves

University of Maryland

Jasmine Walker

Ohio Environmental Council

Alai Reyes-Santos

Alaí Community Consulting

Val Schull

GreenLatinos

Carlos Calderon

West Michigan Environmental Action Council

Maritza Mendoza

Empower DC

Sarah Traore

The University of Texas at Austin

Jose Luis Ortiz y Muniz

Greenroots Institute

Nicole Chavas

Greenprint Partners

Charles Cassagnol

Western Ecology, LLC

Lenise Marrero

Brown and Caldwell

Bre’Shaun Reddick

Alliance for the Great Lakes

Joaquin Esquivel

California State Water Resources Control Board

Joy Banner

The Descendants Project

Maisah Khan

Regenerative Agriculture Foundation

Talia London

The Common Acre

Khalid Osman

Stanford University

Dezaraye Bagalayos

Allensworth Progressive Association

Ean Tafoya

GreenLatinos

Nadine Robertson

Veolia North America

Julian Gonzalez

Earthjustice

Rachele Lopez

Justice Outside

Jeremy Orr

Earthjustice

Ruthie Redmond

UC Berkeley

Chauncey Foster

we.grow.eco

Fernando Ramirez

Bridges 2023 International

Oday Salim

University of Michigan Law School

Wendy “Poppy” Ferris-George

Ferris Institute

Allen Townsend

World Wildlife Fund

Maria Elena Kennedy

Kennedy Communications, Inc

Sydney Garcia

The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Carlos Moran

Northeast Trees

José M. Rodríguez-Flores

California State University, Monterey Bay

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Vinicius Taguchi

North Carolina State University

Kimbaya Carriere

Nuxalk First Nation

Chriscilia Cox

SUMA Consulting LLC

Veronica Garibay

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Sandi Matsumoto

The Nature Conservancy

Nasim Pica

WSP in the U.S.

Cindy Donis

East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice

Aria Harris

TYLin

Keiko Wilkins

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš

Azul

Cheyanne Harris

Brown and Caldwell

Usman Mahmood

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Rob Larson

Grand Valley State University

Nusrat Molla

Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment at Princeton University

Nikki Tulley

University of Arizona

Monica Driggers

Massachusetts Rivers Alliance

Daniel Cordalis

Native American Rights Fund

Bridget Ray

Washington State Department of Commerce

Roland Jones

CIS

Analise Rivero

California Trout

Ashwin Dhanasekar

Brown and Caldwell

Tiffany Sevilla

Greenprint Partners

Alyssa Senturk

California Water Data Consortium

Vicky Espinoza

CaliWaterAg

Ayako Tischler

Xylem

Rhea Drozdenko

Connecticut River Conservancy

Nureen Faiza Anisha

Oregon State University

Frank Ruiz

The Office of U.S. Representative Raul Ruiz

Angela Mooney D’Arcy

Sacred Places Institute for Indigenous Peoples

Xochitl Bervera

Near Futures Projects/Water is Life Oysters

Pallavi Bharadwaj

SEG

Tanner Yess

Groundwork USA

Marc Oliver Quijano

Jacobs

Brenda Coley

Milwaukee Water Commons

Nataly Escobedo Garcia

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

Julia Fay Bernal

Pueblo Action Alliance

Crystal Davis

National Parks Conservation Association

Paula Buchanan

National Center for Domestic Preparedness (NCDP), Columbia Climate School

Arsum Pathak

National Wildlife Federation

Cate Mingoya-LaFortune

Groundwork USA

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Rhysea Agrawal

The Xylom

Alondra Hernandez-Bose

WEAT

Thea Louis

MSC Industrial Supply Co.

Sonali Abraham

Pacific Institute

Walt Walker

TYLin

Patricia Lindsay-Harvey

Willingboro Municipal Utilities Authority

Victor Galvan

Denver Mayor's Office for Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience

Nathaniel I Kollie

University of California Santa Cruz

Diana Piña Yitbarek

NC Department of Environmental Quality

Sapna Mulki

Environmental Policy Innovation Center

Silvia R. Gonzalez

UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute

Alastair Bitsóí

Near the Water Media & Communications Group

Angela M Chalk

Healthy Community Resources Services

Susana De Anda

Community Water Center

Harshini Ratnayaka

Save the Dunes

Sidney Opiyo

University of California, Santa Cruz

Andrian Lee

BCM Environmental and Land Law, PLLC

Esteban Ortiz

The Gorge Association of Aspirations/La Asociacion de Aspiraciones del Gorge

Shandin Pete

University of British Columbia

Shama Perveen

Ceres

Ed Marin

Louisville Water

Afia Zakiya

Independent Africana Studies and EJ scholar-activist, currently Executive Director of Africatown Heritage Preservation Foundation

Pita Juarez

Comms Consultant

Oluwole (OJ) McFoy

Houston Public Works

Tony Bridges

The Maryland General Assembly

Charming Evelyn

OceanWell Water

Kedar Dabhadkar

Lam Research

Ani Jayakaran

Washington State University

Kabir Thatte

The Vessel Collective

Tanasia Swift

Billion Oyster Project

Andrea León-Grossmann

Vote Solar

Jacob Bernal

American Rivers

Alex Ortiz

Austin Water and Wastewater Commission

Quentin Stubbs

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Sanjiv Sinha

Corvias Infrastructure Solutions, LLC.

Emma Robbins

The Chapter House

Olga Cano

HUD

Carolan Sonderegger

For Love of Water

Cate Caldwell

Illinois Environmental Council

Portia Shepherd

Blackbelt Women Rising

Billie Li

Wright-Pierce

Pedro Hernandez

GreenLatinos

Daniela Sherrill

ASU / AZ Water for All

Moisés Moreno-Rivera

Trust for Public Land

Benu Amun Ra

S.A.C.R.Ed Eco-Center

Mallika Nocco

University of Wisconsin–Madison

Jazmin Ricks

University of Pennsylvania

Sri Vedachalam

Cisolutions

Bleu Adams

IndigeHub

Crystal Sanders-Alvarado

Seaworthy

Rene Henery

Trout Unlimited/ University of Nevada, Reno

André Sanchez

California Wilderness Coalition

Nicole Nelson

Equity Legal Services, Inc

Huda Alkaff

Wisconsin Green Muslims

Jaiden Willeto

Northern Arizona University / K'é Infoshop

Damian Shapes Padilla

Spirit Rock Consulting

Chakena Sims

NRDC

Martin Griffin

Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District

Temiloluwa Akinyemi

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Jessica Dandridge-Smith

The Water Collaborative

Dira Johanif

Charles River Climate Compact

Direlle Calica

Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI)

Cathie Chavez-Morris

Equidad Group

Marccus Hendricks

University of Maryland - College Park

Jahan Taganova

City and County of Denver

Gia Moreno

Hood Community Council

Michael Méndez

UC Irvine

Lucero Sanchez

San Diego Coastkeeper

Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou

Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)

Ngodoo Atume

UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Ciara Horne

SBG Digital

Jo Banner

The Descendants Project

Elizabeth Ruiz

CA State Water Resources Control Board

Adriana Renteria

State Water Board

Ehab Meselhe

Tulane University

Mahtaab Bagherzadeh

NWF/Clean Water for All

John Echohawk

Native American Rights Fund

Felice Green

Milwaukee Water Commons

Ayanna Jolivet Mccloud

Bayou City Waterkeeper

Mariana Del Valle Prieto Cervantes

GreenLatinos

Beth Roach

Sierra Club

Jessica Thrasher

Colorado State University

Pablo Ortiz

Union of Concerned Scientists

Emily Warren Armitano

Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation

Danielle Rivera

University of California Berkeley

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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.

explore the Color of Water directory

experts across the country

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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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