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

VOICES: Protecting what we love in the age of AI – Planet Detroit
The director of Michigan Green Muslims offers a faith-based perspective on why Great Lakes communities are pushing back against data centers. [from Planet Detroit]

How more than 240 million gallons of sewage flowed into the Potomac River – NPR
NPR's Erika Ryan reports from the site of one of the nation's largest sewage spills ever — just outside of Washington, D.C. — in January.

Nearly half of L.A. County’s pavement may be unnecessary, new map finds – Los Angeles Times
Researchers have released the first parcel-level analysis to map all paved surfaces across L.A. County. In particular, large parking lots are ripe for change, they