Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Elena I. Popp papers
- Dates:
- 1975-2008
- Creators:
- Popp, Elena
- Abstract:
- Elena I. Popp is an attorney and activist who has worked for several decades on behalf of social justice and change. She has worked on issues related to housing/tenants' rights, the Peace movement, domestic violence, outreach to the homeless, slum abatement, and lesbian issues. This collection dates from 1970 to 2006 and comprises 100 linear ft of materials documenting her life as an activist, lawyer, advocate, and political candidate.
- Extent:
- 82.35 linear feet 180 boxes (82.35 linear ft)
- Language:
- English , Spanish; Castilian .
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Elena I. Popp papers, (Collection CSRC.0048), Chicano Studies Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection spans the course of Popp's career. It includes her State Assembly campaign in 2006, her work with LAFLA, advocacy for renters and unhoused people's rights, her advocacy for LGBTQ rights and involvement in Lesbianas Unidas, and community organizing with tenants' associations. Types of materials include: notes, memos, email and correspondence, agendas and minutes, newsletters, publications and periodicals, campaign literature and banners, case files, client files, policy manuals, administrative records, news articles, capacity building and workshop materials, conference packets, and pamphlets and flyers.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Elena I. Popp is a longtime activist and attorney who is dedicated to working for social change. She was born in Mexico and immigrated to Los Angeles in 1968 with her mother and two younger siblings. Elena became a community activist when a teacher brought a young UFW organizer into the classroom to talk about the dangerous conditions faced by workers in the fields. Elena enlisted in the farm workers' movement that day. Since then, she has worked tirelessly on behalf of immigrants, women, children, those that live with disabling conditions, and those that do not have a place to call home.
Elena received her undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of California Los Angeles. Elena has worked for almost 20 years in legal services, focused primarily in the areas of Housing and Community Economic Development. From 1992 through 2004 Elena was an attorney at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, a legal services program with a 72-year history of providing comprehensive legal services to low-income residents of metropolitan Los Angeles. In 1994 Elena co-founded the Healthy Homes Collaborative of Southern California an innovative coalition that addresses the health consequences of environmental hazards in children's environments.
She created one of the first in court domestic violence prevention programs, a model being duplicated throughout the state; founded the first non-medical model outreach team to the homeless mentally ill, a project that received national recognition and has been duplicated in other parts of the country. Was a leader in the successful effort to save 1.5 million units of affordable housing. Was a key participant in creating the Los Angeles Systematic Code Enforcement Program and other key slum abatement, childhood lead poisoning prevention and asthma prevention initiatives. She has worked in the peace movement and in other projects that seek to eliminate all forms of discrimination. She co-chaired Lesbianas Unidas, an activist group, during the 1990s. In 2006, she ran for a State Assembly Seat in District 45, but did not win.
She is currently the Executive Director of the Eviction Defense Network (EDeN) a social entrepreneurship project dedicated to increasing access to justice for low-income tenants through sliding and below market fees.
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Elena I. Popp. Deed on file at the CSRC Library office.
- Processing information:
-
This collection was organized into boxes based on subject by the creator, Elena I. Popp and then processed by CSRC Library Staff in 2009. In 2026 the collection was then fully processed, with folder-level descriptions, by Krystell Jimenez. The new series are based on the Popp's subject descriptions and categories.
- Arrangement:
-
Original order of materials has been maintained where possible. The order of folders largely follows how they were ordered by the creator. The series below are based on the subjects and categories provided by creator.
Folder titles in quotation marks indicate that it is the original folder title, but the original folder had to be replaced. Popp also worked on many of these projects concurrently and there may be overlap between the series.
This collection has been arranged in the following series:- Series 1: Committee to elect Elena Popp, 1980-2006
- Series 2: Case files, 1978-2008
- Series 3: LAFLA, 1978-2008
- Series 4: LGTBQ and feminist advocacy, 1979-2006
- Series 5: Organizing and political movements, 1975-2006
- Series 6: Tenants' rights and organizing, 1983-2006
- Physical / technical requirements:
-
COLLECTION CONTAINS AUDIO, DIGITAL, AND AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: Special equipment or further processing may be required for listening and/or viewing. Requests to use these materials must be made in advance. Please contact the CSRC Library at librarian@chicano.ucla.edu for more information.
- Physical location:
- COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center Library and Archive for paging information. Researchers MUST make a research appointment through the CSRC Library's website
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Sponsor:
- This finding aid was made possible in part through funding from the Haynes Foundation.
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-10-20 21:10:14 -0700 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for research. Advance requests can be made to CSRC Library staff via email (see the Physical Location note).
This collection contains sensitive legal files that may have both donor-imposed and/or legal restrictions. Please read notes attached to files prior to requesting materials as they may indicate the need for additional review to determine if and how access can be granted.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the physical object belong to the CSRC. Literary rights, including copyright, have not been determined. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and obtain permission to publish. Contact the CSRC Library for additional questions regarding publishing and exhibitions.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Elena I. Popp papers, (Collection CSRC.0048), Chicano Studies Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles.
- Location of this collection:
-
University of California, Los Angeles, Chicano Studies Research Center Library, 193 Haines HallLos Angeles, CA 90095-1544, US
- Contact:
- (310) 206-6052