Catalina Cayetano

Dr. Catalina Cayetano is an innovative leader in the field of Intercultural Communication. Her experience as a Latina first-generation student guides her perspective of what it means to build communities of dialogue through social and cultural ecological observations and reflections of the self.

As Director of Learning Enterprise and Community Engagement for the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University, Dr. Cayetano is responsible for creating/seeking opportunities where outreach, engagement, and collaboration become integral to underscoring the value of community partner knowledge. Arizona State University's Charter and blueprint for community transformation states, "ASU is measured not by whom it excludes, but by whom it includes and how they succeed," and the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences' vision of "empowering communities to create solutions to problems that exist at the intersection of multiple academic disciplines," Dr. Cayetano emphasizes the development of community embeddedness as intercultural communication journey where intercultural competence guides the building of community relationships.

As an assistant teaching professor, Dr. Cayetano's pedagogical work emphasizes the need for individuals to be active participants in their lifelong learning by asking the question, 'Who am I?' before asking the question, 'Who are you?' Her beliefs about exploring, engaging, and questioning the self through the individual before us in a communication encounter guide individuals into the beginnings of discovering a free and authentic voice. Dr. Cayetano has built and delivered various intercultural communication courses throughout her ten years in higher education. Courses such as Intercultural Communication, Language, Culture, and Communication, and Intercultural Communication in the Global Context have become the intercultural building block courses for those who share an interest in the role culture plays in our daily communication practices. Additionally, more specific courses such as Global Media and Cultural Identity, Family Communication across Cultures, and Communication and Social Change allow individuals to dive deeper into the critical areas of intercultural communication and power dynamics. Due to her multiparadigmatic approach in her practice of Intercultural Communication, in the fall of 2022, she was invited as a guest faculty speaker by Universidad Latina in Costa Rica to develop and facilitate ten workshops (Titled: Comunicación Intercultural: Una invitación a reflexionar sobre nuestra comunicación con nosotros mismo y nuestro ambiente) focused on making the connection between intercultural communication and developing the leaders of tomorrow.

Through her active involvement within the ASU campus community as Honors Faculty, Director of Research Initiatives and Intercultural Engagement in CommLabASU, and community organizations like Neighborhood Ministries, her desire is to assist in the development of dialogic cultural relations that lead to the building of communities founded upon the principles of advocacy, compassion, and unity.