Theodore S. Gonzalves, Ph.D., is a scholar of comparative cultural studies. He has taught in the United States, Spain, and the Philippines. Dr. Gonzalves previously served as interim director of the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, and is currently a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Theo’s publications include Stage Presence: Conversations with Filipino American Performing Artists (2007), The Day the Dancers Stayed: Performing in the Filipino/American Diaspora (2009), Carlos Villa and the Integrity of Spaces (2011), Filipinos in Hawaiʻi (2011) [co-authored with Roderick N. Labrador], and Gossip, Sex, and the End of the World: Collected Works of tongue in A mood (2021), co-edited with A. Samson Manalo. In 2023, Dr. Gonzalves released Smithsonian Asian Pacific American History, Art, and Culture in 101 Objects. A former editor at American Quarterly, he is currently serving on the adisory board of Plaridel: A Philippine Journal of Communication, Media, and Society, the editorial board of Amerasia Journal, and is a founding editorial board member of Alon: Journal for Filipinx American and Diasporic Studies.

In the field of performing arts, Theo served on the advisory board for Kumu Kahua Theatre in Honolulu and Bindlestiff Studio, a San Francisco performing arts venue; co-founded the artist-run recording label, Jeepney Dash Records; played keyboards for Bobby Banduria; and toured extensively as the musical director for the theater troupe, tongue in A mood. Theo's musical work has been featured at concerts such as the Asian American Jazz Festival and performances at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. He has also written, produced, and performed several scores for independent films.

Generous support for Theo's scholarly and creative works include recognition as a senior Fulbright U.S. Scholar, a Moeson fellow at the Library of Congress, a senior fellow at the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, an Asian American Center fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Meet the Composer Awardee, and a Visiting Artist and Scholar at the American Academy in Rome (declined). In 2023, he was appointed to the Organization of American Historian’s Distinguished Lectureship Program.

Theo was associate professor of American Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. At UMBC, he chaired the department of American Studies. Theo served as the twenty-first president of the Association for Asian American Studies, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the American Council of Learned Societies. He lives in Washington, D.C.