Catalina Cayetano
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Phone: 602-543-1631
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4701 W. Thunderbird Road Mail Code 3051 FAB S128 Glendale, AZ 85306
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Mail code: 3051Campus: West
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Dr. Catalina Cayetano is a scholar-practitioner in Intercultural Communication whose teaching, research, and leadership are shaped by her lived experience as a Latina first-generation college student. Her work centers on culturally responsive education, intercultural dialogue, and community-engaged practice, with a commitment to building spaces where people are seen, heard, and invited into meaningful participation.
As Director of Learning Enterprise and Community Engagement for ASU’s New College, Dr. Cayetano develops strategic partnerships that connect community knowledge with academic pathways, interdisciplinary collaboration, and student success. Her leadership reflects ASU’s Charter commitment to access, excellence, and responsibility for the communities it serves.
Dr. Cayetano’s scholarship explores language, cultural, and technology brokering within immigrant families, with particular attention to how youth navigate multilingual and transnational environments in support of family and community well-being. Her research highlights how communication practices shape identity, resilience, advocacy, and the everyday labor of care within immigrant communities.
A dedicated educator, Dr. Cayetano teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in intercultural communication, communication and social change, language and culture, and global media studies. Her teaching philosophy emphasizes reflective inquiry, cultural humility, and ethical engagement. She invites students to begin with the question, “Who am I?” before asking, “Who are you?” as a foundation for dialogue, humility, and responsible communal engagement.
Across her teaching, scholarship, and leadership, Dr. Cayetano draws from the value of I-Thou relationships, communitas, and dialogue-centered practice. Her work is guided by relational principles of trust, integrity, cultural humility, and shared responsibility, with the goal of cultivating communities grounded in presence, respect, and shared humanity. Together, these commitments guide her work in cultivating dialogue-centered communities grounded in presence, respect, and shared humanity.
Dr. Cayetano also serves as University Chair of the Committee for Campus Inclusiveness, Co-chair of the Westmarc Healthcare Committee in the West Valley, Honors Faculty at ASU, and Faculty Fellow with ASU’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy.
- Ph.D. Communication, Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University
- M.A. Communication Studies, Arizona State University
- B.A. Communication, Arizona State University
- A.A. Business, Glendale Community College
Intercultural communication; Latinx communication studies; family communication; language, culture, and identity in bicultural Mexican-origin individuals and immigrant families; dialogue; cultural humility; and culturally responsive pedagogy.
Neighbors’ Table Project
The Neighbors’ Table Project was a community-engaged research collaboration focused on immigrant narratives, storytelling, empathy, dialogue, and advocacy. The project brought together community members and immigrant families through shared meals and facilitated storytelling to better understand how interpersonal dialogue can cultivate empathy, sensemaking, and relational connection across difference. My role included supporting the research team in examining participant experiences and project outcomes, with particular attention to how narrative, dialogue, and community-based engagement shape public understanding of immigrant experiences.
Book Chapter
Cayetano, C. (2023) Interdependence within the language brokering experience of Mexican-origin Fathers’ and their adolescents. In V. Waldron & Thomas Socha (Ed) Communicating Fatherhood: New Directions in Theory, Research, and Education.
Book Chapter
Przytula-Vynalek, A., Cayetano, C., Kloeber, D. N., & Froke, A. (2017). Midlife changes and challenges. In V. Waldron (Ed) The Middle years of Marriage: Challenge, Change, and Growth (pp.53-72). New York, NY: Peter Lang.
Book Review
Cayetano, C. (2016). Robert D. Putnam: Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2015, 387 pp. Voluntas, 27(3), 1513-1514.
My research examines the intersections of intercultural communication, family communication, Latinx communication studies, and culturally responsive education. My work focuses on how bicultural Mexican-origin individuals and immigrant families use language, storytelling, and everyday communication practices to negotiate identity, cultural continuity, intergenerational relationships, and community connection. I am also developing scholarship on cultural humility, dialogue, and community-engaged approaches to teaching, leadership, and institutional practice. Across these areas, my research is grounded in the study of lived experience, relational communication, and the role of communication in building more humane and responsive communities.
Courses
2026 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| COM 471 | Global Media&Cultural Identity |
| COM 494 | Special Topics |
2026 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CMN 593 | Applied Project |
| COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
| COM 493 | Honors Thesis |
| COM 371 | Language, Culture & Communictn |
| COM 463 | Intercultural Comm Glbl Ldrshp |
2025 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
| PSY 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| CMN 593 | Applied Project |
| COM 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| COM 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2025 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CMN 593 | Applied Project |
| COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
| PSY 493 | Honors Thesis |
| COM 493 | Honors Thesis |
| SBS 493 | Honors Thesis |
| CMN 565 | Globalization and Advocacy |
| COM 363 | Latinxs and the Media |
2024 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
| PSY 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| CMN 593 | Applied Project |
| COM 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| PSY 493 | Honors Thesis |
| SBS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| COM 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| COM 471 | Global Media&Cultural Identity |
2024 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CMN 593 | Applied Project |
| COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
| PSY 493 | Honors Thesis |
| COM 493 | Honors Thesis |
| COM 371 | Language, Culture, &Comm |
| CMN 591 | Seminar |
| SBS 493 | Honors Thesis |
2023 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
| PSY 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| CMN 593 | Applied Project |
| COM 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| PSY 493 | Honors Thesis |
| SBS 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| COM 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| COM 314 | Inner-City Families |
2023 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CMN 593 | Applied Project |
| COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
| PSY 493 | Honors Thesis |
| COM 363 | Latinxs and the Media |
| COM 493 | Honors Thesis |
| COM 314 | Inner-City Families |
| COM 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2022 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
| PSY 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| CMN 593 | Applied Project |
| COM 263 | Elements Intercultural Comm |
| COM 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| COM 471 | Global Media&Cultural Identity |
| PSY 493 | Honors Thesis |
2022 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| CMN 593 | Applied Project |
| CMN 599 | Thesis |
| CMN 590 | Reading and Conference |
| COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
| PSY 493 | Honors Thesis |
| CMN 592 | Research |
| COM 499 | Individualized Instruction |
| COM 371 | Language, Culture, &Comm |
| COM 493 | Honors Thesis |
2021 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| COM 382 | Classroom Apprenticeship |
| PSY 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| CMN 593 | Applied Project |
| COM 492 | Honors Directed Study |
| HON 493 | Honors Thesis |
My teaching presentations and workshops focus on public speaking, reflective listening, communication center pedagogy, mentoring, dialogic learning, cultural intelligence, community building, and writing as a form of scholarly and communal practice. These presentations include national conference sessions, university workshops, and community-facing public speaking trainings for K–12, college, and professional audiences.
Teaching Presentations
- Together We Write: Writing as Community Dialogue. Facilitated workshop, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ. March 2026.
- Resisting the Prescriptive Process of Community Building Part III: Surviving and Thriving in the Communication Center with Our Cultural Stories. Panel presenter, National Association of Communication Centers, Hattiesburg, MS. April 2025.
- Honoring the Voices of Cultural Diversity within Communication Center Spaces: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Development of Cultural Intelligence in Dialogian Peer Mentor Relationships through Acknowledgment, Mindfulness, Disclosure, and Embodied Listening. Individual paper and presentation, National Communication Association, New Orleans, LA. November 2022.
- “You want me to go online...though we will lose so much, TOGETHER we can think of new ways”: A Qualitative Study of Sensemaking/Sense-giving Leadership in CommLabASU. Individual paper and presentation, National Association of Communication Centers, Greensboro, NC. March 2022.
- The Care and Feeding of Next-Gen Communication Center Leaders: Critical Conversations and Training. Co-authored presentation and community discussion, National Association of Communication Centers, Greenville, NC. March 2021.
- Experiential Learning in the Communication Center: Embracing Opportunities in the K–12 Community. Short course panel presentation, National Communication Association, Las Vegas, NV. November 2015.
- Speak like Sparky: Placing the Pitchfork in Public Speaking. Presentation prepared for and delivered to high school students of the Honeycutt Future Educators Academy, Arizona State University. June 2015.
- Reflective Listening: The Listening within the Walls of a Communication Center. Individual paper and presentation, National Association Communication Centers Conference, Glendale, AZ. April 2014.
- GIFTS: Professional “Selfies” – Impromptu at the Next Level. Panel presentation, National Association Communication Centers Conference, Glendale, AZ. April 2014.
- Mentoring Toward Self-Transformation. Panel presentation, National Association Communication Centers Conference, Glendale, AZ. April 2014.
- How to Be an Effective Public Speaker. Presentation prepared for and delivered to high school students of the West Valley Youth Leadership Council, Arizona State University. January 2013.
- How to Be an Effective Public Speaker. Presentation prepared for and delivered to students at the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State University. February 2013.
- Creating and Delivering an Effective Message. Presentation prepared for and delivered to high school students of the Honeycutt Future Educators Academy, Arizona State University. July 2012.
- How to Be an Effective Public Speaker. Public speaking presentation workshops for 8th grade inner-city middle school students, Be A Leader Foundation. January 2012–May 2013.
Outstanding Faculty Leadership Award 2026, Faculty Women of Color Caucus, Arizona State University.
Awarded in recognition of faculty leadership, service, mentoring, and contributions to community-building within the university.
College Marshal Fall 2024, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, Arizona State University
Honored by the Dean’s Office to represent the college at commencement for faculty exemplary contributions in teaching, scholarship, service, and academic leadership. Awarded to one faculty member each commencement cycle.
Social Impact Award Spring 2024, New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, Arizona State University
Recognized for outstanding contributions to community engagement, inclusive leadership, and public impact.
Social Impact Award Fall 2023, Presented by the Anonymous Student Committee, Arizona State University
Awarded by student leaders in recognition of faculty mentorship, culturally responsive teaching, and community advocacy.
Top Four Paper Award, National Communication Association Conference, Resilience at Midlife: Change, Adaptation, and Optimization in Long Marriages, 2014.
ASU Cintana Master Class Recognition Fall 2023, webinar on cultural humility and cultural communities of care, with 609 unique viewers and noted as one of the highest-attended webinars by the Cintana partnership team.
• International Communication Association
• National Communication Association
• National Association of Communication Centers
• Western States Communication Association
• National Latinx Psychology Association
• ASU Faculty Women of Color Caucus
• ASU Chicano/Latino Faculty & Staff Association (CLFSA)
My mentoring history includes supporting graduate students through CommLabASU, research initiatives, teaching development, and community-engaged communication projects. I have mentored graduate students in communication pedagogy, intercultural dialogue, research development, peer mentoring, leadership, and professional identity formation. My approach to mentoring emphasizes dialogue, cultural humility, reflective practice, and the development of students as thoughtful scholars, educators, and communication practitioners.
University Service
- University Chair, ASU Committee for Campus Inclusion. Provides leadership for a Provost university-wide committee focused on inclusive excellence, educational initiatives, recognition programs, and a supportive campus environment.
- Faculty Fellow, Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, Arizona State University, ASU Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, 2025-present
- Chair, Catalyst Grants, Committee for Campus Inclusion Executive Subcommittee, 2024–2026.
- President, ASU Faculty Women of Color Caucus, 2025–2026.
- Vice President, ASU Faculty Women of Color Caucus, 2024–2025.
College / School Service
- Director of Learning Enterprise and Community Engagement, New College, 2022–present.
- Faculty Course Assessment Committee, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2024–2026.
- By-Laws Committee, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2023–2026.
- Semester Assessment Committee, Communication, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2023–2025.
- Sociology Faculty Search Committee, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2023–2024.
Community / Public Engagement
- Social Cohesion Dialogue Facilitator, ASU Center for the Study of Race and Democracy, 2022–present.
- WESTMARC Healthcare Committee, Co-Chair.
- WESTMARC Education and Workforce Committee, Member.
- West Valley STEM Hub Committee, SciTech Institute, Member.
- ASU Career Services/TRIO Career Coffee Chat and Upward Bound Networking Event, Spring/Summer 2025.
Intercultural Communication Curriculum Consultation
Consulted with instructional faculty and student focus group participants to develop intercultural communication content supporting student learning in a Chinese-Mandarin course. Arizona State University, 2023–2024.
Faculty Development Curriculum Consultation
Designed and developed instructional content and resources for a faculty development module focused on intercultural communication competence, reflective practice, and inclusive pedagogy.
MLES-ASU 1+3 Program Educator Training Hub for Intercultural Communication
Curriculum Developer, Intercultural Communication Competent Educator: The Classroom Space
Designed and developed instructional content and learning resources for a faculty development module hosted in a learning management system. The module focused on advancing intercultural communication competence in classroom environments through applied theory, reflective practice, and inclusive pedagogy.
WESTMARC Healthcare Committee
Co-Chair
Provide leadership and strategic direction for regional initiatives focused on healthcare access, workforce development, and industry collaboration in the West Valley.
My prior experience as an organizational leader in the retail sector informs my teaching, leadership, and applied communication work. In roles with Target Stores, Gap/Old Navy, and American Eagle Outfitters, I managed high-volume retail operations, supervised and developed large teams, supported hiring and performance evaluation processes, and contributed to strategic planning, logistics, merchandising, and customer experience initiatives. This background provides a practical foundation in workplace communication, personnel training, team development, conflict resolution, performance assessment, and leadership communication. I draw on this experience to help students connect communication theory to real-world organizational settings, professional expectations, and workplace challenges.
Barry Goldwater High School IB Conference
Keynote address: Developing Cultural Humility in Leadership through Our Personal Memories.
ASU Career Services/TRIO and Upward Bound Events
Faculty networking and mentoring support for first-generation and college-bound students.