Ricky Leo is a retired electrical engineer who worked in the commercial aviation industry. He is a graduate of the University of Wyoming and the California Institute of Technology. He is married to Grace and they have one daughter, Jennifer. He has a passion for learning, helping others and Chinese American history. He is a member of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance SoCal Gold Medal Committee where he and his wife have personally delivered the Congressional Gold Medal to many living Chinese American WWII Veterans or their families. His own father is was a WWII veteran who earned a Silver Star. He has supported his wife with her many work and volunteer activities.
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.
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.
In previous terms with the Society, Franklin served as Board Director, Membership Secretary, Financial Secretary as well as Treasurer. Born and raised in Southern California, he graduated from USC with BS in Business Administration with an emphasis on Accounting and MS in Business Taxation. He held positions in private industry in accounting and with the Federal Government as tax auditor. He has been retired for over 6 years and, in pre-COVID-19 years, he enjoyed international travel.
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.
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.
Calvin Cheng is currently a partner and chair of the corporate department at TroyGould, where he advises on venture financings, M&A and public offerings. He is a founding member of teachAAPI and has previously served on the board of the Weingart-East Los Angeles YMCA. Prior to law, Calvin served as an organizer with the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union, Local 2 in San Francisco. He is honored to have served the multi-racial, multi-lingual, predominantly immigrant and LGBTQ+ friendly communities of the SF Bay Area where he was born and raised. He cherishes his past experiences organizing people from diverse backgrounds to take concerted action for a common cause, and to have used his Chinese language capabilities to do so.
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.
Cindy Fong hails from Oakland, CA, growing up in its Chinatown. She has been a CHSSC member since 1980. She retired from LAUSD after 34 years as a teacher at Castelar Elementary in Los Angeles’ Chinatown. She has previously served on the board as its second secretary, and has served previous stints as a board member. Currently, Cindy is also an active member of the Friends of the Chinatown Library. She continues to support the Society’s mission and hopes to help expand its online presence.
Annalise Harlow is a Chinese American adoptee from Sacramento, CA. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from Sacramento State University and is currently pursuing a M.A. in Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University. Her research interests include Chinese American immigration, Asian international adoption, and racial/ethnic formation. In 2022, she worked as a summer intern with CHSSC where she contributed to the Five Chinatown's project. In her free time, she enjoys watching new movies and tv shows, hiking, and playing soccer.
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.
Grace Leo is a corporate controller in the automotive industry and secretary treasurer for Motor Holding. She has a passion for community service and Chinese American history. Grace is a Board Member of the Camarillo Family YMCA, is currently working on the $40M Moorpark College Amphitheater project, is a past President of the Ventura County Chinese American Association from 2018-2023, and Secretary for the Ventura County Chinese American Historical Society. She was a member of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance SoCal Gold Medal Committee where she personally delivered the Congressional Gold Medal to many living Chinese American WWII Veterans or their families. She has also served on the Board of Directors of two organizations, the 5 Star accredited Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce where she worked on the Auto Center Board, the Economic Development committee and Legislative Advocacy Forum, and Rotary Club of Oxnard where she received the Paul Harris award, one of the highest honors that Rotary bestows, in recognition of her outstanding contributions exemplifying the highest ideal of Rotary “Service above self”.
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.
Felicia Tabing is a lecturer of mathematics at the University of Southern California. She received her Ph.D. in mathematics from UC Santa Cruz in 2015. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, sewing, and making art that incorporates mathematics.
Chelsea Shi-Chao Liu (she/her) is the recent recipient of an MA in History & Archival Studies from Claremont Graduate University. She also holds a BA in English Literature from Sarah Lawrence College. Her interests include Asian American studies, gender and sexuality, and visual culture. She has previously worked for the Japanese American National Museum, the Library of Congress, the Claremont Colleges Library Special Collections, and Claremont Heritage. Chelsea grew up in Arcadia, California and Beijing, China, where her family still lives.
Andy Tan is a recent recipient of an MLIS from UCLA’s School of Information Studies where he specialized in media archiving. He is especially interested in music preservation and served as co-chair of UCLA’s chapter of the Association for Recorded Sound Collections. He also holds a BA from UC San Diego where he double majored in communication studies and film and video production. He grew up in the Bay Area raised by immigrants from Zhongshan, China and spent much of his childhood in Oakland Chinatown. Outside of CHSSC, you may be able to find him sipping espresso at one of LA’s best coffee shops, shopping for seasonal produce at the farmer’s market, or listening to jazz in the park.
Originally from London, Canada, Michaela Telfer (she/her) is a second year MLIS student at UCLA taking coursework in special collections, academic librarianship, and archives. Before coming to UCLA, she completed a PhD in Comparative Literature at USC, specializing in 19th-century Russian and French literature. Her professional and research interests focus on the relationships between archives and state power and the role of affect in archival practices. In her spare time, she loves to read, hike, and try new baking recipes.
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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