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