Description
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 of more than 100 linear
feet documents her life as an activist, lawyer/advocate and political
candidate.
Please note that accents have been eliminated in
order to accommodate and facilitate the use of all types of web
browsers. Errors and additions related to this finding aid may be sent
to the research center at www.chicano.ucla.edu
Background
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 childrens' 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.
Restrictions
For students and faculty researchers of UCLA, all others by
permission only. Copyright has not been assigned to the Chicano Studies
Research Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote from
manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Archivist and/or the
Librarian at the Chicano Studies Research Center Library. Permission for
publication is given on behalf of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research
Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be
obtained.
Availability
Collection is open for research. However, the collection has not been
processed by the UCLA/CSRC Library Archive as of December 2006.