Linda J. Thorsen

Board President, Chinese Culture Connection

Linda J. Thorsen is a writer, historian, and instructor who currently balances various part-time work with community involvement. Her long-time passions include learning, writing, history, travel, and reading. The daughter of Swedish immigrants, she grew up in New Jersey and has also lived in Pennsylvania and Delaware. She and her husband Mark Bernstein have lived in Malden since 1989.

Linda’s career began with twelve years in software documentation, first as a software technical writer and then as a manager of writing teams. She later held roles in product management, product marketing, and marketing communications, and has worked independently since 2007. Over 4 decades, she has worked for seven software companies, a marketing consulting firm, and a PR firm—and as an independent consultant. In these various capacities she has helped businesses define clear and compelling company and product messages and deliver those messages through diverse written materials.

Linda was part of the founding team of local nonprofit Malden Arts and served on its board for 10 years. She is currently Second Vice President of the Malden Historical Society, and has delivered several talks on Malden history. Since 2012, her community involvement has also included volunteer work on a number of political campaigns, from local school committee and city council races to presidential campaigns. She has been Chair of the Malden Ward 3 Democratic Committee since 2016.

Since 2010, Linda has also been a teaching assistant for evening on-campus and online college courses at Harvard Extension School covering various topics in world history, U.S. history, and historical methods. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from Swarthmore College, an Master of Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and an Master of Liberal Arts with a concentration in History from Harvard Extension School.