As Gilda describes on her @Dr_Pop Twitter id, “We live in a complicated and confusing world. Dr. Pop is here to break it and down and tell it like it is.” That ideal iswhat inspired her to create her alter-ego, Dr. Pop. Like the Center for Urban Pedagogy, Dr. Pop is part of an activist wave who recognize that to facilitate social, economic, and environmental justice people need help to understanding complex systems in order to negotiate them. Gilda has also been an advocate for the contributions of graphic designer as part of this effort at “explaining” and thus an example of important and fruitful collaborations.

Her official bio:
Gilda Haas is an organizer and educator who has been helping grassroots organizations build economic development from the ground up for the past thirty-five years. Ms. Haas been teaching community economic development at UCLA’s Department of Urban Planning for about 30 years, where she also established the Community Scholars Program. She was the founding Executive Director of Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, a founder of the national Right to the City Alliance, and has developed business plans for democratic enterprises such as a credit union and land trust. Gilda currently works as a core faculty member in Antioch University’s new Urban Sustainability program; as her alter-ego, Dr. Pop (drpop.org); and coaching the next generation of leaders in the movement for social, economic, and environmental justice.

A video about Gilda explaining her work and interests can be found here.

To prepare for Gilda’s visit:
Take a look at Dr. Pop’s review of the book, The City and the City by China Mieville AND view the the film: Bogota, Change ( a Danish documentary with English sub-titles; about an hour long). Dr. Pop said she was inspired by Antanas Mockus’ creative strategies when he was mayor.

Documentation of Gilda’s visit by Tara Tannebaum here:
Gilda Haas_Tara Tannenbaum