Elina Rodriguez received her Masters in City Planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning (DUSP) with a focus on housing, community, and economic development. As a 2019 Robertson Leadership Scholar at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, she earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a certificate in Human Rights from Duke University’s Franklin Humanities Institute. As a community organizer, policy strategist, and advocate, Elina is proud to work alongside communities building power for themselves to live in safety, security, and dignity.

As Senior Manager of Advocacy and Organizing at the Community Economic Defense Project, she organized the working-class, multi-generational, multi-sector coalition and campaign to secure $59.1 million in funding across state and local levels for rental assistance in Colorado in 2023. Currently, she serves as a member on the board of Denver Metro Tenants Union, the prominent tenants association in the Denver metro area, and on the board of Pro Housing Partnership, the tenants association in Colorado Springs.

Her desire to pursue her MSP at DUSP was born out of her experience in social services and housing advocacy, particularly in her work with tenants combating eviction, inhabitable living conditions, and economic predation. She is determined to pursue a career in urban studies and planning with a focus on housing policy to address the severe failures of the housing stability infrastructure she’s lived and worked in, and to add to the work being done to dismantle structural inequalities that imperil marginalized people.

Originally from Florida (with deep love for North Carolina), Elina grew up in a Jewish-Cuban-American household enmeshed in a deep sense of community. An avid reader and cook, she has spent the last five years living in Colorado and is excited to find new volleyball, salsa dancing, and jazz (listening) opportunities in Boston.