Biography

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 and a member-at-large for the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California. Mrs. Bentz has four sons and lives with her husband in San Pedro.

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