Linda Bannister, professor of English at Loyola Marymount University, has a Ph. D. in Rhetoric, Linguistics, and Literature from the University of Southern California. She was the inaugural holder of The Daum Professorship, an endowed chair at LMU honoring a senior professor whose scholarship, creative work, teaching, and service are exemplary. Bannister co-wrote (with James E. Hurd, Jr.) and produced the world premiere run of their play Turpentine Jake at the Del Rey Theatre on the LMU campus in Los Angeles, which was nominated for two 2009 NAACP Theatre Awards, winning one. Turpentine Jake was also a 2015 Humanitas Prize in Drama Finalist and a publication of the Marymount Institute Press. Bannister and Hurd have also co-authored an award-winning short film based on Turpentine Jake, "Poet of the Swingin' Blade," which was invited to nine film festivals and won Best Message Film at the San Diego Film Festival 2007 and Best Experimental Film at The Fort Omaha Film Festival 2009. Dr. Bannister is also a Board Member of The CSJ Center for Reconciliation and Justice, and a past Board Member of the World Stage in Los Angeles.

James E. Hurd, Jr. was a writer, actor, and director, co-authoring civil rights-themed dramas with Linda Bannister, including One Sunday in Mississippi and Turpentine Jake, both of which were invited to the National Black Theatre Festival. Turpentine Jake was a 2015 Humanitas Prize in Drama Finalist and a publication of TSEHAI Publishers. The world premiere of Turpentine Jake, which Hurd co-directed, was at The Del Rey Theater on the LMU Campus, and was nominated for two NAACP Theater awards, winning one for best actor in a local production. Hurd and Bannister co-founded The Kohl Players in Los Angeles www.kohlplayers.com. Hurd appeared on many Los Angeles stages, including The Wilshire Ebell, The Met, The Actor's Gang, The Stella Adler, and The Long Beach Playhouse. He also starred in over 50 features and short films, many of which went to film festivals around the country. After a long battle with cancer, James Hurd passed away in 2014, with his devoted partner Linda Bannister at his side.