Yolanda Retter

Yolanda Retter (December 4, 1947 – August 18, 2007) was an American lesbian activist, librarian, archivist, and author.

Retter was born in Connecticut but spent most of her childhood in El Salvador.

Her mother was Peruvian and her father was American.

Her first encounter with racism took place when she was twelve years old, when she returned to school in Connecticut.

This incident spearheaded her activism.

Retter attended Pitzer College in Claremont, California and graduated in 1970 with a degree in sociology.

In the 1980s she completed master's degrees in library science (1983) and social work (1987) from the University of California, Los Angeles and in 1996 she received her Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

Before becoming a librarian and archivist, Retter held a variety of jobs, some as a volunteer.

She worked in prison and parole programs, as a director of a rape hotline, and original publisher of the Los Angeles Women's Yellow Pages.

She then became the founding archivist of the Lesbian Legacy Collection at the ONE Archives and volunteered at the June Mazer Lesbian Archives.

From 2003 to the time of her death, Retter served as the head librarian and archivist of the Chicano Studies Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Retter died on August 18, 2007, in Los Angeles, California, after a short battle with cancer.

She was surrounded by her partner of thirteen years, Leslie Golden Stampler, Leslie’s children, Martin and Belinda, and women she chose.