Category: Catherine (Cate) Crowley

Catherine J. Crowley, CCC-SLP, J.D., Ph.D., is a Distinguished Senior Lecturer in the program of speech language pathology at Teachers College Columbia University in New York City. She joined the program in 1998 and became a fulltime member in 2004. In 2001, Cate developed and continues to coordinate the bilingual/bicultural program focus and the Bolivia and Ghana programs. In 1996, she created and continues to direct and teach in the TC Bilingual Extension Institute, the only discipline-specific bilingual extension program for SLPs. TC is the only university with discipline-specific bilingual extension programs in New York State and one of only a handful nationwide. Cate, a fellow of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, has received several national awards including ASHA’s “Special Contributions in Multicultural Affairs”, ASHA’s first award for “Outstanding Contributions in International Achievement”, and the “2012 Humanitarian Award” from the National Coalition of Ghanaian Associations.

Over the years, Cate used her background as an experienced attorney to shape change and implement appropriate clinical practice especially regarding appropriate assessment of bilingual and minority students and students from lower income backgrounds. She currently has a multi-year consulting project with the NYCDOE and regularly consults on assessment issues with federal, state, and local agencies. Cate was the primary author of the ASHA’s 2004 policy statement that identifies the knowledge and skills needed to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services and wrote the seminal article on ethical approaches to multicultural populations with disabilities which is cited extensively in the literature. Recent publications focus on her international work in Ghana, Bolivia, Guatemala, and Colombia, appropriate disability evaluations, and issues related to clinician accent and intelligibility.