Rachel Elfenbein

Today, we’re marching for change with Dr. Rachel Elfenbein, a mother, daughter, sister, women’s advocate, sociologist, writer, researcher, educator, organizational capacity builder, policy advocate, and community organizer. She currently serves as the executive director of the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans, the retiree arm of the AFL-CIO, which advocates for retirement security for all workers in the U.S. Rachel led successful resident-based organizing and advocacy for affordable housing policies and programs in Washington State, including the establishment of the first community land trust for permanently affordable homes for working-class people in eastern Washington, Common Roots Housing Trust. 

Rachel holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Simon Fraser University, where she was elected departmental steward and later chair of the Teaching Support Staff Union. Her doctoral dissertation was published by University of Texas Press as the book, Engendering Revolution: Women, Unpaid Labor, and Maternalism in Bolivarian Venezuela. Rachel was a Fulbright Scholar to Venezuela and was awarded the Latin American Studies Association’s 2018 Helen Safa Award for research featured in Engendering Revolution. 

Prior to completing her Ph.D., she ran participatory education, research, and organization-building programs around public health and human rights issues with workers, unions, and community organizations in southern Africa. Rachel also served in the U.S. Peace Corps in South Africa, where she led the foundation a children’s rights organization, Childline Mpumalanga.

Listen to Rachel’s inspiring story.