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

2.9 billion gallons of clean drinking water added to California’s supply with new investments | Governor of California
[from Governor of California]

Will adding more lanes fix I-270 congestion? CDOT’s favored fix will test its new mission, opponents say. – The Colorado Sun
CDOT wants to widen I-270 to speed traffic and heighten safety, but clean transportation advocates say the old solutions are no longer relevant. [from The