Biography

Born in Chicago, Roop attended the University of California at Santa Barbara, where she helped found the Isla Vista Recreation and Park District and was then was elected to the initial board of directors. In 1976 she moved from Isla Vista to Massachusetts, where she studied at Northeastern University School of Law

Northeastern University School of Law

Northeastern University School of Law is a law school in Boston, Massachusetts. From the time of its founding in 1898, the law school's mission has focused on addressing the needs of students and of society....

.

While a high school student in 1967, Roop joined a nationally publicized protest and marched from California's border with Oregon down the length of the state to a defense plant near Los Angeles to protest the US war in Vietnam.

After law school, Roop worked for Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....

's Congress Watch

Congress Watch

Congress Watch is a division of Public Citizen that champions consumer interests before the U.S. Congress and serves as a government watchdog. They engage in public education and advocacy, and are focused on the following:...

 organization and the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group

Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group

Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group is a non-profit organization that is one of the largest of the state PIRG organizations. It works on a variety of political activities, including textbook trading on college campuses...

, where she spearheaded litigation to stop acid rain

Acid rain

Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions . It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen...

 from coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

fired power plants.