Gilda is an educator, organizer, and urban planner, who in past lives has helped start a credit union, a land trust, and numerous organizations (such as SAJE and the Right to the City alliance) — all towards building a more fair and democratic economy. She teaches in UCLA’s Urban Planning Department where she also started their Community Scholars Program , and divides her time between consulting, coaching, and Dr. Pop, her alter ego website. Dr. Pop is a popular education website that helps people become better story-tellers and strategic thinkers. Dr. Pop focuses on how the economy , urban planning, and democracy work, provide living examples of how they can work better, and offer tools for organizers, educators, students, activists and all manner of curious people who are interested in change. Gilda lives in Los Angeles and is married to mystery writer Gary Phillips, and has two adult children, Miles and Chelsea.