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