Eugene Moy has been involved with public history and historic preservation for many years. He has been an active member of the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California since he joined in1976, the Friends of the Chinese American Museum, the Los Angeles Lodge of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, the Save Our Chinatown Committee in Riverside, and other organizations Professionally, he is retired after over 35 years in planning and economic development for cities in LA. County. Eugene is a native of Los Angeles Chinatown and a graduate of California State University Long Beach.
Robert Chong is a Chinese American who grew up in Los Angeles. Robert graduated from the University of California, Irvine and later obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the University of San Diego, School of Law. Previous to join the CHSSC board, Robert founded and operated a free SAT tutoring program, working with the Chinatown Service Center.
Robert is an active member of the California State Bar. He had served as an Officer and Board Member for the Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association (SCCLA) and was a Vice President for the Los Angeles Chinese American Sheriff Advisory board (LACASA). He is also a recipient of several awards for his community achievements and Pro Bono work.
Susan Dickson relocated to LA after receiving her degree in Psychology from the University of Tennessee. Subsequently, she received a Master’s Degree in teaching Reading from CSULA. Susan began teaching at Castelar Elementary School in L.A. Chinatown in 1981. Teaching in Chinatown provided many educational opportunities for her students, a diverse group, many from immigrant families from Hong Kong, Vietnam and Cambodia. In 1997 and 1999 Susan’s classes participated in a year-long museum classroom project at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage where an exhibition was made of her students’ work. In 2002 Susan was one of 50 teachers nation-wide who won a Save Our History competition by History Channel. The competition involved her collaboration with the Chinese American Museum. The resulting exhibit was on display at CAM for 3 years.
Susan has been on the CHSSC board for over 30 years and has served as president for 8 years. Susan, who is currently retired, continues to be active in the Chinatown community. She is finishing her 33rd year on the board of the Friends of the Chinatown Library. She has been on the national board of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, a civil rights group, since 2011.
Steve Tom was born and raised in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Glendale with his wife, Cathy, and son, Christian. His oldest son, Jason and daughter-in-law, Sandy reside in Monrovia and are expecting their first child in October, 2024. Steve attended Castelar, Nightingale, and Marshall High School. He holds a BS degree in Business Administration, Accounting from Cal State L.A. He spent 30+ years in the Entertainment Industry in Finance and Accounting roles. Retired for 8+ years, he enjoys travelling, volunteering, and eating(!). He has volunteered to teach ESL, prepare Income taxes through AARP Tax Aide, and has done some bookkeeping for Chinatown Firecracker. His great passion is Pickleball
Linda Bentz received her under graduate degree from the University of California Los Angeles and her graduate degree from the Anthropology Department at San Diego State University. She has studied four historic Chinese communities: Ventura, Oxnard, Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Cambria. Working with the National Parks Service and the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary she investigated the presence of Chinese abalone harvesters on the Channel Islands. Chinese fishermen, California-built Chinese junks, and Chinese American women and families are among her research interests. Linda researched and wrote the script for the documentary, Courage and Contributions: the Chinese in Ventura County and has published essays in books, journals, and newsletters. In 2012, she completed a book about Chinese communities in Ventura County, Hidden Lives: A Century of Chinese American History in Ventura County with co-author William Gow. She is currently the historian for the Ventura County Chinese American Historical Society. Mrs. Bentz has four sons and lives with her husband in San Pedro.
David Castro has worked with CHSSC for over five years, serving as an archival assistant on the Duty and Honor project and as a consultant on digital projects. He recently earned a Master’s in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University, specializing in Archival and Records Management, and an Advanced Certificate in Digital Assets Management. He also holds a Bachelor’s in History from the University of California, Los Angeles. Born and raised in Los Angeles, David developed a deep affinity for understanding the evolution of the city’s cultural landscape and the diverse communities that have called it home. This passion led him to appreciate the vital role of local community archives in preserving and sharing the rich, diverse histories of the city and the rest of the Southland. Currently, David works as a Special Collections and Archive Processing Specialist at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Isaac Chu's early years were in Taiwan, growing up between Taipei and Hualien. Upon immigrating to the United States, he spent his adolescence in the East Bay with many memorable weekends in Oakland's Chinatown.
Moving south, Isaac studied History, Political Science and Economics at UCSD, and continued to study Law at Loyola. Thereafter, he worked as a school teacher before moving into small business management and consultancy. In recent years, Isaac has been learning indigenous cultural lifeways, and also working with community organizations throughout Los Angeles.
For over 10 years, Gordon Hom has been serving CHSSC. He has served as President for 3 terms and multiple years as VP of Programs. With the help of multiple Libraries in Los Angeles County, CHSSC and Gordon presented the leading amount of live lectures and book talks. He is retired from City of Inglewood and Los Angeles as an Inspector. Over the years, he has fixed/installed CHSSC’s roof, toilets, security cameras, locks and ramps.
Laureen D. Hom is an assistant professor at Cal Poly Pomona in the Department of Political Science. She received her PhD in Planning, Policy, and Design with an emphasis in Asian American Studies at the University of California, Irvine. She also received a BA in Anthropology and Art History at University of California, Los Angeles and a Masters in Public Health at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Her research interests are at the intersection of urban studies, ethnic studies, and policy studies, and her most recent research is on the politics of community development and gentrification in Los Angeles Chinatown. Prior to her position at Cal Poly Pomona, she worked in community-engaged collaborative research in health services and non-profits serving Asian immigrant communities. She is a third generation Chinese American from San Francisco and has lived in New York City, but now calls Southern California her home.
Los Angeles based Train Attendant for Amtrak and Member of CHSSC since 1980. Angela lives in Portland, Oregon part-time with her husband, Tom. Prior to the current pandemic, much of her time was spent in Los Angeles, either working for the Railroad or documenting Los Angeles, specifically Chinatown, through her photography. Angela has run in every Chinatown Firecracker 10K/5K every year since 1981.
Susie Ling was born in Taiwan and raised in the Philippines, Her first project with CHSSC was co-authoring Linking Our Lives. Since 2003, she has been Gum Saan Journal editor. Susie has been the Associate Professor of Asian American Studies and History at Pasadena City College since 1984.
Albert Lowe previously worked with CHSSC as the Duty and Honor project archivist. Albert also participated in the family genealogy program, In Search of Roots, and was a researcher for Loni Ding’s “Ancestors of the Americas.” He is the co-founder of the Asian American magazine, SLANT, and has an advanced degree in Ethnic Studies from UCSD and a MLIS degree from UCLA. Albert’s recent work is in the realm of low wage worker empowerment and affordable housing. He currently works as a strategic campaigner at the United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 770.
Originally from Canoga Park, California, Coryn Hardison holds a BA in History from UC Irvine and a Master of Library and Information Science from UCLA. She began her career with an internship at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and has since held positions as Collections Manager at CHSSC and as CSU Archivist at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Her professional and academic interests include participatory archives, gender and sexuality in the United States, and the history of popular culture. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, tabletop games, and learning to play the lyre.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Yi-Shen Loo identifies as a second-generation Singaporean-Chinese and Japanese American. She is a recent graduate from the University of California, Berkeley with majors in Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies and Ethnic Studies, as well as a minor in Japanese. In her time at Berkeley, she was the co-chief editor of the Asian American Research Journal and a member of the AAPI Community COVID Archival Project. With a background in transcription on several Asian American oral history projects, Yi-Shen is excited to continue this work on the CHSSC’s Five Chinatowns Project. Currently, Yi-Shen is a fellow at the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), where she is working on another oral history project to document the association’s original founders and key members. In her spare time, she can be found playing the violin and baking.
Ryan Sullivan is originally from the greater Los Angeles area but is now pursuing undergraduate studies at New York University. She is currently a junior with a major in History and a minor in Chinese. Interest in Chinese and Chinese American History for Ryan stems from her background as a third generation Chinese American. Outside of her studies, Ryan is an avid dancer and music enthusiast.
Riona Tsai is a second-year UC Riverside undergraduate student majoring in both Media & Cultural Studies and History. She was born and raised in the Bay Area and currently resides in Cupertino, where she lives with her family, including her parents and two brothers. She began interning for CHSSC in her first year at UCR during the spring quarter of 2021 and has been doing work on the City Market Chinatown, including going over different sources and cataloging data. Riona is very passionate about movies and film history, especially relating to old Golden Age Hollywood movies. Outside of school in her free time, she enjoys watching movies, reading, exploring places with friends, and watching Chinese movies with her dad. She also enjoys spending time volunteering at the American Cancer Discovery Shop and for the local San José Public Library.
Luke Diep-Nguyen (they/them) is currently pursuing their Master of History at Claremont Graduate University, focusing on American history, particularly on American foreign relations with East Asia. They received their Bachelor’s degree in History from University of San Francisco. They are interested in working in archives and academia. During their undergraduate years, they have interned and worked at the Pacific Atrocities Education, a non-profit organization in San Francisco focusing on atrocities in Pacific Asia, particularly during the 20th century.
Joann Im received her Bachelor's degree in Music and a Minor in Women's Studies (title effectively changed to Gender Studies) from University of California, Riverside. She is a current employee with Central Library, the main branch of the Los Angeles Public Library in Downtown Los Angeles. For a couple of years, she worked in Access Services, housing one of the best research collections of periodicals dating back to the Nineteenth Century. Her interests lie in the human narratives, community, and the preservation of history. Her employment with the Los Angeles Public Library influenced her pursuit in the field of collection and preservation of stories. Presently, she is aspiring to enter a MLIS program in the near future. In her free time, she performs with the HOLA Eisner Intergenerational Orchestra playing the cello. She feels deep appreciation and understanding of the music's shared history and culture through her continued musical journey.
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