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