Golda was just a child when her family fled the continent to avoid the Nazi pogrom, coming to live with family in New Orleans. She grew up hearing of the fates which befell those of her family's friends and relatives who were not so lucky as the stories made it to the western press. Her biggest hero growing up was an uncle who took part in the armed rebellion in the Warsaw ghetto, who sent letters as often as he could throughout the war and afterwards, giving a more personal view of the atrocities occuring than newspapers and radio provided. Her childhood thus saturated with oppression, it was little surprise that Golda herself became a radical.
A brilliant student, Golda's family managed to send her to college, though they could barely afford it. There, the passion to fight oppression which had been stoked in her as a child found a definite form and expression. Through friends and professors, she was introduced to socialism and threw herself into the cause. To her mind, she and her comrades were fighting to liberate man from the ability to be oppressed by other men, but her timing was poor. Senator McCarthy and his House Committee of Un-American Activities had whipped up a frenzy of hatred against Communism and other radical philosophies and her family could not understand how she could advocate a group who shared a similar ideology with the Nazis (who were, after all, National Socialists). She found herself an outcast, with only her fellow radicals as company.
It was on the eve of her final day free that she was approached by the pale Italian who explained to her the danger that faced her and that would rob her of her chance to make a difference in the world. He also offered her an alternative. The truth of his state repelled her, but she saw the truth of his words and knew that her choices were limited. While she didn't relish becoming what he had, she saw no other means to continue fighting for her cause and so, in the end, she agreed to the Embrace. It took a lot of adjustment for her to get used to her new state and the severance from the last people she shared anything with. Bonifazio, however, proved to be a compassionate mentor in the ways of the night and the two grew close, attacted by their shared idealism.
The only aspect of her new state which still bothered her, as time faded her other concerns, was her role in the war of Bonifazio's sire. Her mentor was candid with her about his reservations and the lies which he'd been told and she agreed that it seemed like little more than a power struggle between two fascist leaders. Their discussions provided him with the intellectual fuel he needed to betray his sire, though he never told her of the act itself. She, however, suspects he was involved, at the very least, and worries about the implications of such action on his part.
For her own part, she's continued to be deeply involved in socialism, though her view of it is less idealized than it was in her niave years as a mortal. Her understanding is more sophisticated and better takes into account the flaws of men and the need for gradual change in order to have a lasting effect. Thus, she has been very much the planner and philosopher behind her pack's activities, her packmates being better implementers than strategists. She has also become a staunch Loyalist (and firmly supported the move to the Sabbat whom she sees as philosophically superior to the Camarilla, even if, in practice, it is often the same).
In the last twenty years, she has also begun to establish an internet presence, using the anonymity to become more directly active in radical politics. She's gotten quite a bit of fame and has a firm following among the socialist and communist groups in the country, though often her refined view of the ideology is rejected by the more hot-headed or traditionalist members. In particular, she has an ongoing fued with the Marxist-Leninists, who claim she's compromised the true ideals of the movement. She pays them little heed and is able to argue anyone down who disagrees with her, though she's more prone to be subtle, so as not to alienate those who disagree with her (a skill she's trying to teach Bonifazio).
Golda is highly intellectual, existing mostly in a world of ideals and ideologies, but her age has given her something of a realistic perspective to tone down the worst excesses of such a perspective. She is still, however, very much the idealist and refuses to compromise her core belief that men can live together in equality and peace.
In person, Golda has a very distinct presence brought on by her conviction and passion, though to look at her you'd not think of her as an impressive figure. Despite her intimidating intellectual demeanor, she is a very polite and rational person, very easy to get along with or argue with. Having learned that there is little use in just stating your opinions in a discussion, she is meticulous to explain her reasoning and the support for her ideas in the other person's own perspective. This makes her very hard to argue with and, thus, even though Bonifazio is a better speaker, she is a much more effective debater.
Golda wouldn't say that she is in love with Bonifazio. Rather, she feels close to him as she might to a brother. The two compliment each other well and have a role in keeping the other from suffering too much from the downsides to their temperments. She is aware of his concern about following his sire and grandsire into hypocrisy and is doing her best to both allay his fears and see that it does not come to pass.
She is similarly fond of Oliver, though not to the same extent. She values his sincerity and conviction, though she's trying to teach him to take a longer view and not risk as much for such short term gains. She is somewhat frustrated that he equates her advice to the overcautious sensibility age brings and is irritated that it resonates with her own doubts about the effectiveness of her approach (and whether she herself is sliding down the path her sire fears).
While she doesn't hate the Lasombra as Bonifazio does, she is very wary of them and, particularly, the pride they take in their clan. She is acutely aware of where such attitudes lead and is careful to keep a close eye on them and do her best to keep the efforts of her pack subtle and unnoticeable. She is similarly afraid of the Setites, whose blatant immorality makes them distinctly threatening to the academic. She is particularly scared of what will happen should her sire's conflict with them lead to outright war. She has no illusions about whose side the Lasombra would take.
She feels sorry for the members of the Rex Pack and has tried, on numerous occasions, to engage Ange and the others in a discussion of their religious beliefs. She's not been very successful and is sad to see the degeneration resulting from their continued misguidance. She's been trying to convince Louis to abandon the group before he, too, is sucked in, but he, as yet, refused to abandon his sire.
Golda's influence is diffuse and subtle, but casts a wider net than her sire's. Her contacts in the radical groups across the country aren't strongly effective, they still have their uses. The rallying of a student group to protest some new law or the rousing of the unions by a concerned socialist 'ally' to oppose a political candidate can have a definite effect on the political and social structure.