A devoted public servant, Theodore Chuang has worked in senior legal roles in all three branches of the federal government as well as served in numerous community and legal organizations. As a US District Judge, Chuang issued critical rulings regarding Trump’s Muslim ban and the in-person requirement for abortion pills during the pandemic. Early in his career, Chuang served as a trial attorney in the US Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, where he investigated and litigated discrimination cases in housing, mortgage lending, and public accommodations. Through this work, he aimed to “advance equal opportunity for people of a diverse range of backgrounds.”

A child of immigrants, Chuang was the board chair for a legal services organization serving low-income Asian immigrants. He served as president of the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts, receiving the 2018 Founders Award, and president-elect of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater DC area, earning the 2019 Pioneer Award. He has served on the boards of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law of the Boston Bar Association, and the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute.

Chuang supports the advancement of Ethnic Studies at Harvard, including expanding course selections, creating an Ethnic Studies concentration, and focusing on faculty recruitment, hiring, and promotion. He believes that expanding Ethnic Studies will provide “students of all backgrounds” with “the opportunity to learn about the full range of the human experience” and thus “go out into the world better equipped to be thoughtful, effective leaders and citizens.”