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

How a Michigan Supreme Court decision on a Line 5 permit might ripple beyond the pipeline – Interlochen Public Radio
Justices vacated a permit for the pipeline, while also issuing a consequential ruling for state environmental reviews on several fronts — including the state’s public

New Park Bench Monitors Offer a Pathway to Air Pollution Solutions – The Washington Informer
The District added four Village Green monitors in May to increase air quality data accessibility for residents in underserved wards. [from The Washington Informer]

New Colorado River plan causes concern and uncertainty for some tribal nations in Arizona – KNAU Arizona Public Radio
The federal framework could result in steep cuts to Arizona’s share of river water. Some Native American communities could be impacted. [from KNAU Arizona Public