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

Day laborers face hardships in the aftermath of Altadena fire, study reveals – CaloNews.com
A new report shows that many day laborers who worked in debris cleanup and recovery after the January 2025 wildfire in Altadena often worked through

American data centers in just seven states are reportedly using more water than all the cities in California – TechRadar
Data centers in seven states consume 10.4 million acre-feet of water [from TechRadar]

The Great Mayfly Swarms of Lake Erie – National Parks Conservation Association
Summer mayflies along Lake Erie’s coastline may be nasty and annoying, but they share glad tidings about environmental recovery. NPCA played a role. [from National