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.
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?

AOC holds jar of brown water from next to Meta’s Georgia data center at EPA hearing: Residents ‘rely on bottled water to drink and prepare meals’ – AOL
Neighbors of a massive Meta data center can’t drink their water, and their water bills are set to skyrocket. [from AOL.com]

Environmental justice raised over data centers targeting rural NM – KRWG Public Media
GreenLatinos believes states should approach regulation of artificial intelligence data centers from a mindset of community protection and adopt a high bar for regulation. [from

'Bringing these worlds together' – Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
[from Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability]