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.
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.
Isaac is a first generation Chinese American who immigrated from Taiwan to the SF Bay Area and grew up in the East Bay. Upon graduating high school Isaac went on to study History, Political Science and Economics at UCSD, then Law at Loyola. Thereafter, he worked as a school teacher before moving into small business management and consultancy. In recent years, Isaac has been building community with organizations in and around LA's Chinatown and the San Gabriel Valley, centering API and indigenous issues.
Tony was born and raised in Chinatown L.A. He attended Castelar Elementary, Nightingale Junior High, and Belmont High School. He received his B.S. degree in Business Finance & Economics from California State University, L.A. After 33 years in Banking, specializing in credit underwriting, financial analysis, and portfolio management; he retired at the end of 2024 and is looking forward to traveling, and being more involved in the community.
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.
Sam is an Alhambra native with limited Cantonese proficiency that co-founded the Chinese-American Student Association (CASA) at USC. He summited Sing Peak twice in 2025 after first attending the Yosemite Pilgrimage in 2022. Two of his cousins worked at Empress Pavilion. His great grandparents are at the Chinese Cemetery in East LA. He goes to too many Clippers, LAFC, Angel City, and SC games, when he’d rather watch interesting films.
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.
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.
Victoria Hong was born and raised in Southern California, and spent her childhood frequenting Los Angeles’ Chinatown. Her background is in education, with past experiences in classroom teaching, curriculum development, adult learning, and work with nonprofits. She is currently pursuing her MLIS at San Jose State, holds a master’s in education from Loyola Marymount University, and bachelor’s in English and international studies from the University of California, Irvine.
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.
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.
Riona Tsai is our new archivist. She received her BA from UC Riverside in both Media & Cultural Studies and History specializing in public history, as well as a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from UCLA. With a passion for community-based history and cultural heritage preservation, she has previously worked on various public history projects, such as A People’s History of the IE, as an undergrad, Cal State LA oral history intern, and as a CHSSC intern. As a CHSSC intern, she worked on the Five Chinatowns Project, created virtual exhibitions, and helped process CHSSC's archival collections. In her spare time, she enjoys going to the movies, collecting physical media, and hanging out with her cats.
graduate student at UCLA working as the current archives intern. She received her bachelor's degree in History with a minor in Chinese at Reed College. Zoe has an interest in community archives, digital humanities, and diaspora histories. She has previously worked with the La Historia Historical Society on a digital mapping project and at Heritage Services at Stanford University doing archeology fieldwork. In her spare time Zoe likes to do oil painting, hiking, and exploring Los Angeles.
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