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

California’s push to limit groundwater pumping could leave small farmers in the dust – Los Angeles Times
According to a new report, California groundwater regulations threaten to put many small farms out of business. [from Los Angeles Times]

A simple idea to bring clean drinking water to U.S. homes at a lower cost – Sustainability Accelerator
[from Sustainability Accelerator]

New federal law could bring running water to tribal homes, but states have concerns – NPR
More than 10,000 homes on Southwestern Indian reservations lack running water. This despite tribes substantial water rights. A new solution is being held up as