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.

explore the Color of Water directory

experts across the country

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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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