Elinor Heller was a former committeewoman for California in the Democratic National Committee (1948-1952) and chairwoman of the University of California Board of Regents (1975-1976). Heller was born in 1904 in San Francisco, California, and attended Mills College. At the advent of World War II, she and her husband found employment in the United States Treasury Department, during which time she was appointed as the Democratic National Committeewoman for California. In her work with the Committee, she was witness to the appointment of Harry Truman as vice president and his eventual rise to the presidency, while her time with the Board of Regents spanned the influential free speech movement. She was also active in many community service organizations in Northern California, including the League of Women Voters, the Institute of Pacific Relations and the World Affairs Council. In this interview, Heller discusses major political campaigns of the mid-century, university leadership and student unrest, and Bay Area community service. This interview is part of the Women in Politics project.